BloodBound Belle Mort
by Bellemort2432
Summary: When a decision between killing others, killing herself to save others, or waiting for death to come, what will she choose? Jess isn't given a huge option from Damen, but she discovers that she already has her mind made up. Question is, what is Damen?
1. Chapter 1 and Chapter 2

_My breathing increased in speed, anticipating and fearing what would happen next. Of course, I already knew, but there was the small chance that he would draw away, because I had not taken a shower in three days. "Don't think like an idiot", I thought to myself as he drew closer. "It's not the smell of you at all that draws him near. It's only what pulses beneath my skin." My breathing got heavier as he pressed his chest against my back, murmuring into my ear. _

_ "I won't hurt you once we are together." He kissed the line of my jaw, a small smile playing across his lips. His arms tightened around my waist, and I was crushed against him. The image in the mirror I looked into showed a horribly beautiful man, hugging me softly but firmly to him. Yet, the distance between us was like an ocean. He smiled while my thoughts went on, revealing all of his teeth. Including the two sharp incisors that were to sink deep into my ivory skin. I shuddered, terrified by the thought. His lips moved down to my throat as he murmured, "Don't be scared. You wanted this all along, am I right?" I swallowed hard, then nodded my head the tiniest bit. We stood there, silent, for minutes on end. "I'm growing rather impatient," he said, with a hint of annoyance in his voice. All I could do was nod. "May I finish?" He asked me, looking into the mirror at my reflection. I shook my head. _

"_Not yet," I managed to breath out. "Give me….fifteen minutes." He looked at me skeptically. "I want to enjoy my last moments of living." His eyes bore into mine, and I stared back, for it was all I could do to keep from fidgeting. At last, he spoke. _

_ "Very well. You promise me though," he grabbed my wrists too tightly, watching them as they turned white. "No escaping." He looked up into my face as I stood there, frozen. One perfect eyebrow raised when I said nothing. Then, he laughed. "Of course you will not. I would catch you. You would not get very far." Then, letting go of my wrists and wrapping his long, muscular arms around my waist, he brought his lips to mine, not being gentle at all. I knew it was no use to struggle against his strength. Instead, I stood there, arms hanging awkwardly at my sides as he tried to kiss me. He became fiercer, while I stood there, helpless against his iron grip. In one fluid motion, he had managed to knock us on the ground, catching my head before it hit the marble floor, yet somehow still seeming to keep his lips locked to mine. I gasped for breath. He laughed and let go of me, allowing me my fifteen minutes. _

_ "Do what you want with your time, Jessica. There will not be much left to yourself." He laughed again. It was a throaty laugh that echoed throughout me, as if I was a hollowed out trunk of a tree. I nodded my head to him, and tried to formally walk out of the foyer. Of course, I was shaking all over, so I nearly scrambled out of the room. Swinging open the door to the restroom, I searched around for my purse to find it was still hooked on my shoulder. My hands shook as I opened the zipper. Fumbling through the pockets, I found my cell-phone. I dialed his number quickly, waiting for it to go to voicemail. The beep alerted me it was time to tell him goodbye. _

_ "I….just want to say I'm sorry. This didn't turn out well at all. I love you so much, but please, please don't come looking for me after. Lucius, he found me. I don't want you to get hurt because of my own idiotic decisions. Just…make sure your family knows, and that my mom and dad know that I, well, died. Let them think I'm gone forever. You have to promise me you won't come looking. I love you. I wish it were you. I'll miss you forever. I love you."_

_I pressed end to stop my voicemail and send it through. The tears in my eyes threatened to spill over as I unlocked the bathroom door with my purse in hand. I walked back into the foyer, back straight as I faced him. He was at her side in an instant. The speed was something she would have to get used to. His cold hands gripped her shoulders tightly._

"_Are you ready now?" His velvet smooth voice rang through my ears, and I could no longer hold back the tears. He looked in the mirror adjacent to them, then his hand flew up and caught the tears. Then he spun her around, making her dizzy and a little nauseous. He stared at her again. _

_ I tried to answer with no waver in my voice. "Yes." I succeded. He smiled. "Good", he replied, clearly pleased with my answer. He took my right hand and pulled me over to the plush chair that was against the wall. He sat down, then patted his lap as if to beckon me. I did as I was told. My legs swung across the edge of the chair as he positioned me so that he could get the best angle to my neck as possible. His lips grazed over where the blood pulsed most. He swiped his tongue to soften it, then took a deep breath. I closed my eyes tightly, wishing it was Damen who was here with me. He sank into my flesh as my eyes opened in agony, trying to get a scream out. All that I managed to say was "I love you" one last time. _

_Chapter One_

I re-adjusted the backpack that was slung over my right shoulder so that it wouldn't slip. The sidewalk was slick, and even with my running shoes (that were fit to hold on to the ground for a short period of time to give you a spring when you ran) wouldn't hold on. The red Stanford sweatshirt I had on wasn't much protection against the hard wind that rocketed through the air. I hadn't even worn my sweats, but instead, a pair of green capris. "I'm such an idiot", I muttered. The first day of school and I have already made a joke of myself. I smoothed down my hair that had frizzed up in the rain. It was a good thing I hadn't worn mascara. "At least it's not winter."

The walk to school was treacherous in the winter. The snow would stick to whatever touched it so that you couldn't brush it off. Then, it would melt indoors, leaving you sopping wet. I moaned at the thought of yet another winter walking to school. Why couldn't mom and dad just pay for the bus? It would be a ton better than walking into school known as "Wet Red Jessie." The nickname had confused me for a while, but I understood it now. The wet and the Jessie were easy to understand. She was wet, and her friends called her Jess and Jessie. The red threw me off, but I now understood. It was just not that obvious because I had flaming red hair (sarcasm central).

My mind whirled around these thoughts as I ran across the street, catching myself twice before face planting into the cement. A black BMW honked at me, yelling out the window because I hadn't waited for a "go" sign. I didn't spare him a glance. As I reached the sidewalk, I saw Kat getting out of her mother's jaguar. I waited in place for her as she ran towards me, her feet slipping out from under her every once and a while.

"Jess! It's been so long! Like, what, a couple weeks?" Kat threw her arms around me, bubbling over how she and her new boyfriend, Mitch, had met at a school party that I was invited to, but didn't attend. "He is soo cute! And he has this bleach blonde hair and blue eyes. Yes I know. Hitler club, right? But he is soo not like Hitler. He's just the sweetest guy ever! I need you to meet him! Oh! And guess what the best part is? He's coming to Jefferson High! OH, wait. That's so not the best part. The best part is that he's my neighbor!" Kat babbled on and on, but all I was thinking about was how wet we were getting when she asked "Hello? Earth to Jess? Are you even listening?" She waved her hand in front of my face. I snapped back to reality.

"Yah. Hi. Mitch sounds amazing." I tried to sound enthusiastic. Kat didn't fall for it. She stared at me, her eyes disapproving. I changed the subject. "It's pouring out here, let's go inside." Walking inside, Jess thought about Kat. She usually had a boyfriend every other week. The longest she had gone out with a guy was two months. Record breaker!

Kat's mood immediately perked up when they walked to their new lockers in the hallway. "Okay. What's your first class?"

I looked down at my schedule. "AP History." I rolled my eyes.

Kat started bouncing up and down like a little girl "Oh my gosh! Mitch and I have that too! That way you can meet him!" I stood there, confused for a moment. But then I remembered that I hadn't been listening to Kat babble about her summer. She had probably said he was coming to Jefferson High then.

I played it safe by saying, "Cool! I'd love to meet him." Kat eyed me curiously, wondering where my enthusiasm had come from. Instead, she nodded her head vigorously.

"You HAVE to promise me something though", Kat turned around and made me pinky-swear by all that was on the line of my life.

"I swear, Kat. Just tell me."

"You cannot take him away from me. Girls loyalty code!" I stared at Kat, then laughed so hard I almost puked.

I managed to sputter out between giggles "You thought I would take Mitch?"

Kat glared at me and said "He's more than just your average hottie. He's only the hottest sixteen year-old to live." With that she stalked away, leaving me to my fits of laughter.

* * *

I was still giggling when I walked through the door into History. Kat had taken a seat in the back of the room. A boy was sitting next to her, just like the one she had described when they were outside. Apparently, she had still saved a spot for me on her right. I walked back there, knowing she was not paying any attention to me. The bell rang then, and Kat threw back her head of long blonde hair, whipping me in the face. I spit out her hair noisily, making her jump.

"Oh. Hey Jessie!" It seemed like Kat had gotten over her fit.

I smiled at her, grateful that she got over anger easily.

Mrs. Gamberly, the history teacher, walked into the room then, her throaty voice yelling out to the class "Welcome to the first class of AP History." Groans were heard across the room. I rolled my eyes, but had to agree with them. History was about old things that wouldn't matter unless you were a historian or a scientist or mathematician. Who would want to be that?

Mrs. Gamberly shushed the class as she spun around to the white board. "I wanted to start out with a seating chart today, so pick up your bags and get ready to move." More groans came. She pointed to the front right seat. "Katherine."

Kat looked over to me. She mouthed "crap", pecked Mitch on the cheek, and walked to the front. Mrs. Gamberly was on the 2nd row by the time Kat had made it to her desk. My classmates names were called. When Mrs. Gamberly got to the back row, my name was first. I walked slowly towards my assigned seat for the year, wondering what kind of creep I would have to sit next to. Instead, Mrs. Gamberly paused at the chair next to me, looked at her chart, and moved on.

I stared dumbfounded at the lady who was supposed to be my history teacher. She already hated me, yet she knew nothing about me. "Suck", I muttered under my breath.

Once Mrs. Gamberly had everyone seated in their new seats, she started a lecture on the Declaration of Independence. I searched my bag for my Ipod, then turned it to Green Day, pulling up her sweatshirt hood so that the cords could not be seen.

I paused "21 guns" when the hinges on the wooden door creaked open. The class stared, some gasping. I didn't bother to look up. Mrs. Gamberly sounded annoyed at the newcomer.

"Excuse me sir, we are in the middle of class." I looked up to see Mrs. Gamberly narrowing her eyes.

A male voice answered. "I know. I am sorry that I was late. There is horrible traffic out on the freeway."

The boy must have brought Mrs. Gamberly a slip, because she opened her desk and added it to the "late" tardy notes.

"Very well then, Mr. Shae. Take a seat by Ms. Hewett." I was startled when she said my last name.

"Thank you." The voice came again. I expected to hear footsteps coming towards the back of the room, but there was none. Wondering why the new guy was just standing in front, I looked up. Mrs. Gamberly went on with her lesson, but no one else was in the front of the room. I scanned the rows of seats, seeing no one. But when I looked to my right, the seat that had once been empty was now occupied by the new kid. He sat tall and straight, noticeably stressed.

Still, he was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen.

The planes of his face were sharp, but rounded on the edges as though to make sure he wasn't too alarming. His copper golden hair glowed, even when he wasn't in the sunlight. His nose was long and curved slightly upward. His lips were thin yet full, and absolutely symmetrical from what I could see. But this was not what had made me stop breathing momentarily. Not even his impeccable body was the cause. I looked up into his eyes. They were not your average eyes. They were completely black.

No one else had seemed to notice. All they saw was his perfect face, body, jaw. I was suddenly frightened of the guy sitting next to me. I was also intoxicated. I stared at his face, knowing it was impolite, but unable to look away.

The spell was broken when Mrs. Gamberly asked me a completely random question about the founding fathers of the constitution.

"Ms. Hewett. Name three of the founding fathers of the Constitution." I had learned this, but it had been at the least three months since I had reviewed! I managed to sputter out three names, not sure at all whether they were correct or not.

"Uh..George Washington, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson." I felt like a total idiot after speaking. What kind of brilliant came up with a history answer with an "Uh" in it? I knew Mrs. Gamberly was looking at me disapprovingly, but instead of gazing back, I looked down at the history book that was sitting on the edge of the desk. I turned up the volume on my Ipod, hoping to drown out the smirks and giggles around the classroom that were aimed at my stupidity.

I was reaching for the history book when I caught a glimpse of the new guys hand. The skin was powder white, almost translucent. It stretched over the bones of his fingers smoothly. I noted that his hand was curled into a fist. No veins showed in his hands. I unconsciously compared his hand to mine, noting how uneven and dry my skin was. It looked like a rat chewed on it compared to his. I looked up at his face. He was glaring down at me, a murderous look on his face. For a split second, I thought he was a maniac serial killer, and I was next on his list.

Then I saw how beautiful and perfect he was. Even with a murderous look on his face, he looked like a painting of a perfect person even Van Gough couldn't draw. He was still glaring at me when I was about to ask what I had done, but the bell rang. He stalked toward the door quickly, at inhuman speed. I just sat in my seat, staring at the spot where a completely random guy who hated her had run away.

_ Chapter 2_

The periods before lunch went by in a blur. It was only when I got to lunch was I aware of Kat hounding me. She stared at me as if I was some kind of science experiment.

"What? Did I grow a mutant pimple on my face?" I let my voice drip with sarcasm. Kat winced at my harsh tone. I sighed. "Sorry. I'm just in a crappy mood today."

Kat shook her head as she grabbed a lunch tray. "I can see." I followed her silently, picking a strawberry muffin and apple juice.

When we sat down, Kat popped the killer question. "So is Damen just like the hottest or what?" It took me a moment to realize who she was talking about. I thought about it while I chewed a piece of the muffin.

"Damen is his name?" I asked thoughtfully.

Kat gushed over it. "Yah. I know that it's your first year of school here and everything, but we've been friends for a long time, and I've lived here a long time." My memory suddenly switched over to the past. Until this summer, I had always lived with my dad. He died of cancer May 31. We had lived in New York, where the only way to survive was to be strong. Having divorced parents wasn't too bad for me. Until now. I had to live with my totally preppy mother, who owned a business in the clothing industry. She threw parties three times a week and even though I got showered with perks, I didn't get her attention.

This is fine with me.

Now I'm stuck going to Jefferson High, a charter school in Oregon. Welcome to the land of wet, green and cloudy. Every summer before dad died, I had come to visit Mom for a month. I met Kat at a carnival, waiting in line for faice-paint.

I was five.

Snapping back to the present, I asked Kat a question in return.

"Is he new here?" I took a sip of my apple juice.

"Yep. If he wasn't, I would've already snatched him up!" Kat fluttered her mascara covered eyelashes.

"Wait, I thought you were with Mitch? Do you recall saying 'he is only the hottest sixteen year-old on the planet'?" Kat was nice, but she could be really shallow.

"Well that was until I met Damen. But yah, I guess I'll stay with Mitch until Damen bites." I shuddered at her choice of words, not exactly sure why though.

"Poor Mitch," I muttered under my breath. Kat was too busy texting on her Iphone to hear me.

I looked at my friend, seeing that she was exactly the rich cheerleader kind of girl. With blonde straight long hair that never seemed to tangle and light blue eyes that looked innocent, Kat looked like the captain of the cheerleading squad. She could have been too. She had the looks and the money for it. Instead, she decided to hang out with me, the girl who doesn't get noticed. Well, that is, for the first day of school. Things would probably change later on.

Lunch went on slowly, Kat texting on her phone while sat on the wooden bench and picked at my muffin. A question came to my mind.

"Does Damen have any family?" I stared at Rose, waiting for her to pull away from her phone.

"Yah…he does. He has a foster father and mother, one sister and two brothers. But, none of them are related. Except for him and one of the brothers."

"Can you name them?" I asked, digging further.

"Oh yes!" Kat gushed out all the names. "Charlie, Aislinn, Alyssa, Jack, and Lucius. Charlie and Aislinn are the foster parents, even though Damen and Lucius are emancipated." I gaped as she went on.

"Alyssa and Jack are together, but they live with Charlie and Aislinn. No one really knows where Lucius is. Rumor is he's way hot. If only there more cute guys like the Shae's, the world would be a better place." Kat sighed dreamily.

Before I could hear more of Kat's gross fantasy, I asked "So who is Damen's blood brother? Jack or Lucian?"

"Lucian."

"Oh."

I let Kat dose off while I contemplated the new information I had. The rest of lunch I sat there, clutching my English notebook, waiting for the bell to ring.

* * *

As I walked to English, the only painting that caught my eye was one of a man holding a small boned girl, her face twisted in fear as he kissed her.


	2. Chapter 2

_ Chapter 2_

The periods before lunch went by in a blur. It was only when I got to lunch was I aware of Kat hounding me. She stared at me as if I was some kind of science experiment.

"What? Did I grow a mutant pimple on my face?" I let my voice drip with sarcasm. Kat winced at my harsh tone. I sighed. "Sorry. I'm just in a crappy mood today."

Kat shook her head as she grabbed a lunch tray. "I can see." I followed her silently, picking a strawberry muffin and apple juice.

When we sat down, Kat popped the killer question. "So is Damen just like the hottest or what?" It took me a moment to realize who she was talking about. I thought about it while I chewed a piece of the muffin.

"Damen is his name?" I asked thoughtfully.

Kat gushed over it. "Yah. I know that it's your first year of school here and everything, but we've been friends for a long time, and I've lived here a long time." My memory suddenly switched over to the past. Until this summer, I had always lived with my dad. He died of cancer May 31. We had lived in New York, where the only way to survive was to be strong. Having divorced parents wasn't too bad for me. Until now. I had to live with my totally preppy mother, who owned a business in the clothing industry. She threw parties three times a week and even though I got showered with perks, I didn't get her attention.

This is fine with me.

Now I'm stuck going to Jefferson High, a charter school in Oregon. Welcome to the land of wet, green and cloudy. Every summer before dad died, I had come to visit Mom for a month. I met Kat at a carnival, waiting in line for faice-paint.

I was five.

Snapping back to the present, I asked Kat a question in return.

"Is he new here?" I took a sip of my apple juice.

"Yep. If he wasn't, I would've already snatched him up!" Kat fluttered her mascara covered eyelashes.

"Wait, I thought you were with Mitch? Do you recall saying 'he is only the hottest sixteen year-old on the planet'?" Kat was nice, but she could be really shallow.

"Well that was until I met Damen. But yah, I guess I'll stay with Mitch until Damen bites." I shuddered at her choice of words, not exactly sure why though.

"Poor Mitch," I muttered under my breath. Kat was too busy texting on her Iphone to hear me.

I looked at my friend, seeing that she was exactly the rich cheerleader kind of girl. With blonde straight long hair that never seemed to tangle and light blue eyes that looked innocent, Kat looked like the captain of the cheerleading squad. She could have been too. She had the looks and the money for it. Instead, she decided to hang out with me, the girl who doesn't get noticed. Well, that is, for the first day of school. Things would probably change later on. Kat would probably move to different people.

Lunch went on slowly, Kat texting on her phone while sat on the wooden bench and picked at my muffin. A question came to my mind.

"Does Damen have any family?" I stared at Rose, waiting for her to pull away from her phone.

"Yah…he does. He has a foster father and mother, one sister and two brothers. But, none of them are related. Except for him and one of the brothers."

"Can you name them?" I asked, digging further.

"Oh yes!" Kat gushed out all the names. "Charlie, Aislinn, Alyssa, Jack, and Lucius. Charlie and Aislinn are the foster parents, even though Damen and Lucius are emancipated." I gaped as she went on.

"Alyssa and Jack are together, but they live with Charlie and Aislinn. No one really knows where Lucius is. Rumor is he's way hot. If only there more cute guys like the Shae's, the world would be a better place." Kat sighed dreamily.

Before I could hear more of Kat's gross fantasy, I asked "So who is Damen's blood brother? Jack or Lucian?"

"Lucian."

"Oh."

I let Kat dose off while I contemplated the new information I had. The rest of lunch I sat there, clutching my English notebook, waiting for the bell to ring.

* * *

As I walked to English, the only painting that caught my eye was one of a man holding a small boned girl, her face twisted in fear as he kissed her. I shuddered at it, the image sticking in my mind. I took a seat in the back, hoping to avoid much attention. Of course, when Ms. Clemont puts a seating chart on the board, I'm in the front row. I sat by a girl named Abigail, who had red orange hair that didn't fit her face correctly. She was nice, because she didn't have to keep up small talk. "I can live with this", I thought. Ms. Clemont gets the rest of the class into their assigned seats, walking around and making sure the seating looked perfect.

When we were all settled, Ms. Clemont starts off the class in her shrill voice. "Welcome to Literary English. This term, we will be learning about grammar, analytical essays, and myths. I expect your undivided attention, and If I see you passing notes or chewing gum in my class, you will have detention." I saw many girls stop their jaws half-way through a chew. I couldn't help but smirk.

"We will start off with some myths from right in our town. Mmmm…." Ms. Clemont looked down at her seating chart, trying to find someone's name. "Ms. Abigail Sharsh." Abigail sighed before speaking.

"The oldest myths here are of three origins. The first one is supposedly people with fins who could live underwater. Basically, mermaids. The second one was of shape-shifters, who could transform themselves into animals or glob or some mutant kind of thing like that. The third one is the D.F. This stands for the death feeders, who supposedly suck blood or eat people, or something like that. I don't really look into it much." Abigail paused. "Why is this important? These are old-people legends."

I hid a laugh with a cough. Ms. Clemont stared hard at Abigail until she started to fidget.

"Ms. Sharsh, for your information, not all of these are myths." The class erupted with laughter. Even I couldn't stop a smile. There were no such thing as mermaids, shape-shifters, vampires or for that matter, even zombies. "Hush up, all of you!" Ms. Clemont yelled at her class, but nothing could stop the bursts of laughter now. I watched her shake her head and return to her desk, taking her round glasses off and rubbing her temples.

I noticed how Ms. Clemont was a petite woman, short and thin, but also reaching her 50's. Gray strips of hair emerged from under the dark brown pixie cut she had. Her nose was small and round, not pointing out at all. Her eyes were a dark green. Overall, she wasn't very unique. Just a standard teacher look. Well, except for the fact that she believed in myths. Taking my gaze away from my English teacher, I looked around the room. It was small and the pale gray desks were wedged into corners. Paintings of hobbits and dwarves, elves and fairies, even werewolves and vampires filled the walls. I gazed at each picture for several moments, trying to scribble each brush stroke, each color into my mind. I had gone through at least ten paintings when I came to one.

It was the same painting outside the classroom. The same girl with the flaming red hair was held by the tall, overpowering man. He bent over her, smiling, as she dipped down, trying to get away. His grasp on her waist was gentle but firm. He was breathtaking. She was pretty, but a dull flame compared to him. He had sharp angles along the planes of his face. His eyes were so dark brown they almost looked black. His long, lean, muscular body twined around hers, locking her almost in a cage. It looked like he was possessive of her. His lips parted over a fabulous set of teeth as he grinned at her. All the while, her flaming red hair hung in the air as her small body tried to bend away from him. Her hazel eyes stared up into his face, pleading with him for…something. The round edges of her face gave her a softer look. She was locked in his embrace, terrified every moment he held her. While he seemed gentle in the picture, I could tell he was strong, and this girl couldn't escape whether it was a matter of life or death.

I stared at the painting for a long time. Then it hit me. The girl in the painting looked _exactly_ like me. The hair was the exact same shade of flame red. Her hazel eyes had the same almond shape as mine. Her height was the same. I could see the bones in the face that matched mine. The last thing that was a sure fire that she was me (or an ancestor) was that she wore the same ring. It was silver and small, curls running around the silver. At the middle sat a flower that was soaked in some sticky, thick liquid that I had never understood. Water and sap, maybe? I had debated over it for years. Still, there was no point in denying it.

The girl in the picture was _me_. I sat in my seat, frozen, not able to move a muscle until I ran out of oxygen. I tore my gaze away from the girl to find myself staring at the guy. There was something in his face that seemed…familiar. But after staring at it until my eyes watered, I still couldn't put a name to the face. It frustrated me, and I hadn't noticed how much time I had spent looking at the picture until the bell rang, alerting us that there was one more period before school was out. French went by in a blur. I didn't pay attention to what our teacher said.

I thought about the painting on the walk home, unable to get it out of my mind. I faced my house after walking for around ten minutes. It was still overwhelming to see. It was an old French house that had been remodeled. The glass windows reflected all of the colors of the rainbow on certain parts of the glass. The wooden doors were carved with symbols that made no sense at all. Everything was luxury. I even had a hot-tub in my room, a plasma, a mini fridge, and a huge bathtub that stretches farther than how tall I am. All of it is nice, but the one thing that annoys me sometimes is my mom thinks she can make up for ditching dad and I by showering me with presents. It's not like it cuts into her own personal life, so why would it matter? I roll my eyes as I open the front door.

Mom isn't home, so I fling my sneakers off and take the white-carpeted steps two at a time. Reaching the top, I run down the hallway to my door. The hallway is long and even with speed on my side, it takes me about three seconds to reach the end. I swing open the wooden chestnut door. My bed sits on the far side of the room, the satin purple sheets looking very comfortable right now. Knowing I can't relax right now, I sigh and move towards the left. The marble desk that stands high in the corner is clear of papers, reminding me that I have homework to do. Light streams through the crystal window that is placed right in front of the desk. Prisms of light bounce off onto the desk, hurting my eyes. I sit down on the tall chair that is covered in pink faux fur. The fur is soft and plush, letting me sink back into it. I close my eyes and sigh. It feels so nice to just relax after the first day of school. I fade into a daze, keeping myself in that position for minutes. I might have never been able to get up if it weren't for the phone ringing. My head jerks up, eyes snapping open. I reach for the phone that lay on the edge of the desk. I answer wearily.

"Hello?" I sound like I'm recovering from a hangover. Great.

"Hi!" The voice is perky. "Is Jesse there?"

"Um..yep. This is she."

"Jess! It's Alyssa. Alyssa Shae." I snap up. Is this Damen's sister?

"Uh…Damen's sister?" I sound like a retard.

"Yes! So glad you know me. Anyways, I was wondering if you had seen Damen today."

I think as hard as I can, trying to fight the block in my mind that suddenly appeared. "Um…."

"Oh. That's okay!" There was relief in Alyssa's voice. I wondered why. "If you can't remember then I'll just call…"

I cut her off. "Wait! I do remember. I saw him today in first period History. He was rumored to have left at lunch. Does that help?" I finished lamely.

The phone was silent for minutes. I can't even hear breathing from the other line. All I hear is the buzz of the heater from my room and my own steady breathing. Just as I was about to hang up, Alyssa replies. "Yes. Thank you. Good day." Her voice was curt and formal now, and half a second after she spoke, the line went dead.

My head rings. Something was off about her. About the family. I shake my head again, trying to conclude whether or not I just made the call up in my head. After making sure I was awake in various ways, I flash over to the laptop sitting on my bed. I know I won't be able to do homework right now. Waiting for the MacBook to turn on, I get up to brush my hair. I brush through it again and again until it's silky smooth.

When I'm finished, I walk over to my bed, grabbing a plush throw to wrap around my arms. I bring up google, but write as I'm about to type, I realize something. _"I don't know what I'm searching."_ I haven't even met this guy, yet he sends me over the edge. I sit there, realizing my stupidity.

"Just because someone scares you doesn't mean they are bad," I mutter to myself. I check the time. It's 6:30. As if on cue, mom walks through the front door shouting "Jess! Chinese for dinner! Come down!" I close the laptop and make my way across the room to endure another dinner with my mother.


	3. Chapter 3

_ Chapter 3_

Mom was In a bad mood at dinner. I walk down the stairs, trying to set off dinner for as long as possible. I hear mom bustling around the kitchen, trying to find where she keeps the forks. I'm on my fifth stair when mom yells "Jesse! Hurry up! I don't have time for this! There's a party at 8:30 that I'm supposed to be at and if you make me late, you're grounded!"

"As if it matters," I murmured to myself before shouting back "Okay mom!" I slow down on the steps. I don't care if mom gets mad at me. I'm still getting over the fact that Alyssa called me. Why had there been a block in my mind? It was almost like a cement wall in my brain that I couldn't get past.

I was at the bottom of the steps now. Egg rolls were sitting on the glass oval table. I took the tan seat that was farthest away from my mom. She always sat at the head of the table. I sat at the other end.

"Where is the Chinese from?" I already know from the smell that it was from Asian Star, but mom would get mad if I didn't try to talk with her. She stands over the sink, holding her phone up to her ear with her shoulder.

"Asian Star." She doesn't spare me a glance while talking. I'm fine with that.

"Did you get the veggie plate?" I ask her, now just trying to annoy her with talk.

"Yes Jesse! Now shush! I'm on the phone with a very important client."

I hide a chuckle under my breath. She was so easy to piss off. Reaching across the table, I search for the noodles. It doesn't take me a long time to find them, because mom never orders much. I open up the white Styrofoam box, hoping to find veggies on top of the noodles. I find beef.

I blow. "Mom! I said veggie! Why on earth would you get beef?" I lost my temper at the wrong time, because mom is talking with the client right then, discussing the price range. She stops mid-sentence, slowly turning to look at me with disgust. She murmurs into the phone.

"I'll call you right back, Ms. Smith. Yes. Yes thank you." She hangs up the phone and turns on her heel. I see the look on her face. It's pure disappointment. She bends down to get face-to-face with me. She's fuming. Staring at me with solid eyes, she begins in a loud voice.

"Jessica Hewett, what were you thinking? I had told but thirty seconds before not to speak! Now I'm probably not going to be able to sell the vintage dress at a high-rate price! This is coming out of your allowance, young lady! I'm so disappointed! And an outburst over beef? What are you, five?"

I listen to her quietly. When she finishes, all I can manage is "I don't like beef."

She stares at me, eyes turning colder. "You don't like beef." She says each word slowly. "So, you interrupted a very important call because you _don't like beef._ Am I correct?"

I say it almost immediately. "Yes."

"Jessica Hewett! You are grounded as of right now! No track, no after school activities with Kat, nothing. Two weeks. Think about what you've done in your spare time."

I stare at her, mouth hanging open. "What I've done? Mom! You pay more attention to your sales then your own daughter! And when I ask you for food, you get it wrong to fit YOUR needs. I'm just a burden here. You just ran off with dad and I was the bad turn-out. I'm YOUR fault, mom. And now, I'm YOUR responsibility, not just one of those hundred dollar bills that you throw away. I might as well be a dog that lives in your house and takes up all the room! Well, mom, or should I call you by your first name now? Well, Claudia, just because your life is infested with me doesn't mean you get to throw me around like a rag doll. You'll be rid of me in 3 years."

Her mouth drops open as I finish. With that, I spin out of my chair with an eggroll in hand, stomp my foot once, and march up the stairs. "Now I just have to survive the rest of tenth grade along with eleventh and twelfth." My minds spins. Today wasn't a great day.

I flop down on my bed, locating my cell phone. I type in Kat's number absentmindedly. She answers on the third ring.

"Hey Jess! What's up?" I listen to her perky voice. It's like a baby bird chirping.

"Hi Kat. I was just wondering if you want to……." I cut off. What did I want to do tonight? "Uh…go bowling."

Kat catches my pause, but chooses to ignore it. "Sure! I'll come pick you up at 7:30, kay?"

"See you then."

"Bye!" I press end, holding it down for what feels like a long time. Finally, I sigh and walk over to my desk. I decide to start with French. It was just filling out a worksheet. Just going over two words put together, like cupcake. I go through it quickly, and move on to Geometry 2. This doesn't go by nearly as quickly, but I get it finished by 7:15. Making sure that I could finish the rest of homework later, I walk over to my closet.

My phone rings. I bound over to the bed, looking at the caller Id. It's Kat.

I pick up. "Hey Kat."

"Wear something hot, kay?"

"Uh…why?"

"Because I'm bringing Mitch and you have to find someone at the bowling alley to go out with."

"Kat! I don't want to…" I was cut off.

"No! You have been single forever, and I'm sick of it! You ARE wearing something cute, or I will come in the middle of the night and kill you. Are we clear?"

I sigh. "Okay Kat."

She squeals. "Yay! See you in a few." She hangs up. I roll my eyes at the phone I'm clutching. Setting it down, I walk back over to my closet. Opening the sliding screen, I look around the racks. I settle on a pair of denim skinny jeans and an Orange tank. A mandarin cutie rests on the shirt with a voice bubble saying, "I'm a cutie!" I throw on a denim mini jacket and grab my wallet and phone. I stuff them into a small purse, then swing open my door and walk down the stairs.

Mom is sitting at the table with a box of tissues. Half of the box is gone and on the table. I crinkle my nose in disgust, then tip-toe past her. I grab a pair of white sneakers and open the door. I manage to get outside without mom seeing me. I stand on my driveway, waiting. My mind wanders back to the phone call today.

Alyssa's voice had been all perky at first. It turned formal right after I remembered. It was like she had been happy I couldn't remember. I shivered. There was definitely something off about the Shae family. I didn't know what, but I was determined to find out.

My thoughts were interrupted when Kat's Porsche pulled into the drive, hip-hop music rocking the car slightly. I could hear it clearly. Kat was nodding her head in time with the beat. I rolled my eyes and laughed. She was so care-free. I walk over to the passenger side, opening the silver door. The music blasted into my ears, and I yelped a little at how loud it was. Sitting down onto the leather, I shout over to Kat.

"Why do you have your music so loud?" She stares at me after I ask, then laughs.

"That's the only way to spread your music to other people!" She shouts back.

I giggle. "You're such a retard!"

She rolls her eyes as we pull out of the drive. The bowling alley is about 15 minutes away. We speed down the roads, getting a few fingers as we go. Kat just sticks her tongue out at them as I laugh.

When we get out, I swear that I'm nearly deaf. Walking across the tar, we try to hear each other speak. Neither of us can hear the other, and we end up in fits of laughter.

We reach the doors, and as I swing them open, I see Mitch leaning casually against the wall. Kat smiles widely.

"Mitch! So glad you're here!" She walks straight up to him and plants a sloppy kiss right on his mouth. His eyes open in surprise at her clumsiness. Kat Is never clumsy around guys.

I whisper into his ear. "She turned the radio to full blast."

He mouthes "Oh" to me. I smile.

Kat is unaware of the conversation. She squeals. "Come on! Let's go get our shoes."

We walk over to the concession counter. I ask for a size 7. Kat gets a 7 and ½, and Mitch gets a 9. We walk over to lane three. I take a seat and start lacing up my shoes.

"I'm going to go grab a ball. What color, Kat?" Mitch grins at his girlfriend as he speaks.

"Um……….." Kat puts on her thinking face. "Pink!"

Mitch smiles. "Okay. What about you, Jesse?"

"Just grab me a blue," I reply. Kat frowns at me.

"You're so ominous," she frowns at me.

"You used a big word," I reply.

Her frown deepens. Just then, Mitch gets back. He hands Kat her pink ball, then hands me my blue one. He chose a red.

"Thanks," I say to him. He nods. We look up at the screen. I'm up first. I sigh, get off of the chair, and get ready. I take three big steps and swing my arm.

The ball rolls down the sleek lane slowly. It curves off to the left. I manage to get two pins down. Kat giggles off of my left. I spin around and teasingly glare at her. She holds her hands up innocently, and I laugh. I walk over to the rack, waiting for my ball to spit out of the what I like to call 'eater.' It comes back up, and I try again. I get five pins down this time. I "hmph" and walk back to my seat. Mitch is up next.

"7 pins out of 10. Not so bad." I turn and stare at Kat pointedly.

"That's a C-." Kat giggles.

"Shut up," I mutter under my breath.

Mitch takes two long strides and executes a perfect throw. He gets a strike. Kat bounces out of her seat and cheers. She skips over to him and plants a kiss on his left cheek. He laughs, walking back to the chairs. Kat grabs her pink bowling ball. I watch her run spastically at the lane, gliding on her knees at the end as she pushes the ball towards the pins. Mitch and I laugh. I see many people staring at Kat, with looks of "she's crazy" on their face. This makes me laugh harder.

Kat managed to get five pins knocked down. She stands up quickly, hollering "Woo!!" into the air. She runs back to Mitch and I.

"Nice roll, Kat," I grin at her.

"It's an original," she smiles back at me. Then, bounding back to grab her ball, she laughs.

"Isn't she something," Mitch says.

"Well, she isn't nothing," I reply. At that, we both laugh. We watch Kat take another bowl normally. She gets a gutter ball.

"Dam.." Kat starts. I cut her off.

"If you swear, you owe me a dollar." I say to her. Last week, we started a goal for her that every time she swore she owed me a dollar. Every time I swore, I owed her a dollar. Basically, If you swear, you lose money. She owed me five dollars as of yesterday.

Kat glares at me. "Why do I have to do that?"

"Because it will be better if you can go a week without swearing," I reply.

"You sound like an adult," Kat muttered under her breath. I pretended not to notice.

The rest of the game went on like that. Kat and I teased each other. Mitch bowled really well. Of course, Mitch won. Kat and I came to a tie.

"I almost beat you," Kat told me.

"Yep. But, that means I almost beat you." I looked at her. We were having child arguments by now, but we didn't care. We were having fun.

Kat rolls her eyes. Mitch announces he has to leave, so Kat kisses him quickly, then calls my name and skips out the door. I walk across the tar. When I reach her Porsche, I hear no music blasting out from it.

"That's not good." I mutter to myself. Kat always has music blasting.

I open the door and sit down. Looking at her, I see she's staring straight ahead.

"Kat? What's going on?" I think she's playing a prank, but I'm not sure. "Kat?"

She points ahead. I see nothing at first. Then, I look on the ground. In front of her car was a dead deer. Blood was smeared all over the area. Kat was terrified by blood.

I gasp. Kat had never gotten in an accident or hit an animal. My first reaction is horror. What had she done for the twenty seconds I wasn't with her? Then, I realized her car hadn't moved. My second reaction was disgust. It was probably some people from our school playing a prank on her. I get out of the car and slam the door. I walk over to Kat's side.

"It's just some retards playing a prank on you," I tell her. I see now that she's breathing in frantic, little breaths. "Scoot over, I'm driving."

The ride home is silent. By the time we get to my house, Kat has recovered.

"I'm sorry for the mental breakdown back there. It's just, who would do that?"

I cut off the engine and look over at my friend. "I don't know," I say. "But we'll find out."

I walk to my front door and bound up the stairs. Mom tries to talk to me, but I give her an excuse about being exhausted. I run up to my room, lock the door, change into my pajamas, and go to bed.


	4. Chapter 4

_Chapter 4_

My alarm clock wails loudly. I moan and roll over, checking to see the time. 6:30. I slam down hard on the button to make it shut up, then moan again and roll off the bed. I stagger over to my desk to see what my first three periods are. Art, Science, and P.E. I decide to skip until History. Not that I like History, but that's when I'll get to see Damen.

Walking back over to my bed, I turn on my phone. I have 8 new messages. I throw the covers over myself and slowly lay my head down. Typing in my password for my phone, I see 7 of them are from Kat.

_"Jess! Mitch came over to my house and we had this awesome movie night!"_

"_Jess! Mitch kissed me for like ten minutes straight! New record!"_

"_Jess! Mitch is sooo hot!" _

They went on and on. I decided after reading three that I would just delete them and play along later. I didn't need to hear about her kissing Mitch all night long.

I scroll down to the last message. The phone number is blocked. "It's not possible to block a number on a text," I said slowly to myself. I open the text.

"_Damen! How could you be so careless! What is she going to think of us now? I had to hang up on her! Are we going to have to move again?!? Charlie is royally upset with you. If she's the one, don't go all freaky on her, kay?" _

I read through the text several times. It still doesn't make sense. Who were they talking about? Who was texting Damen? Who says "Royally"? Millions of questions spin through my head. I groan and throw my cell-phone on the floor. "Good thing that iPhones don't break from being thrown on carpet," I thought to myself. I roll over and try to relax. I know I won't be able to get to sleep after seeing the text, but I try anyways. After laying for an hour, I knew I was correct.

Sleep never came.

I take a deep breath and inhale the mist from the humidifier. It was shaped like an elephant with the mist coming out of the trunk. I had bought it for myself last year and placed it right by my Jacuzzi bathtub. I sit in there now, laughing at the elephant. I pour some bubble bath into the tub. Yes, they are bubbles, but they are relaxing, and I like to pop them.

I watch them each pop on their own, and I help the ones that don't want to pop. I giggle at the small explosion of soap the make. Sighing, I rest my head against the edge of the tub and close my eyes. It seemed like all my worries would melt away when I took a bath. I checked the clock that sat on the wall in front of me. It was 9:30. I had to be at school by 10:15 to make it to History. I unwillingly stepped out of the tub, drying myself off.

Half an hour later, I was at Jefferson High. The wind blew through my hair, whipping it around my face as I walked towards the front office. I grabbed a tardy slip and mumbled a lame excuse of not feeling great to the lady at the front desk. She nodded her head and went back to her own work. I walk through the hallways until I reach the fifth door on the right, labeled AP history "Mrs. Gamberly."

I take a deep breath and open the door. People from my class are taking their seats. I see Kat in the front row mouthing to me to ask where I've been.

"Tell you later," I mouth to her. She nods her head once, then whips around as Mrs. Gamberly starts the class. I walk to my seat in the back, my eyes focused on the ground I walk on.

I'm about to pull the chair out for myself when someone else does. I focus on the hand resting on it. It's pale. I follow the arm up to the face.

I gasped a little. He was there, holding my seat out for me, his smile breathtaking. I could only stand there, gaping at him until Mrs. Gamberly addressed me.

"Ms. Hewett, please take your seat." I look up at her stern face. The class is stifling fits of laughter. I swish my hair back and sit down. Damen's hand has dropped to lay on his lap. I look up to his face to see a small smile playing on his lips. I drop my gaze down to my bag to get the book out. "Turn to page 60, students." Noise fills the classroom as we flip our books to the correct page. I turn there quickly and wait for the rest of the class to finish. I rest my head against my arms, my arms folding across the book. I turn my head away from Damen. "Is everyone ready?" Mrs. Gamberly asks the class. Murmurs filled the room, and she began.

"Many American's don't understand America's history. All they know is that the Revolutionary War was hard, we barely won, and now we are a powerful country." Mrs. Gamberly droned on. I lose my focus when a note was flicked onto my book.

I stare at it, then slowly place it in my hand. I open up the folds. Elegant handwriting is sprawled across the paper, putting my handwriting to shame.

"Does History bore you?"

I look around to see who it was from. I look up at Damen. He is staring at me, the smug smile still on his face. He's breathtaking. His golden honey hair still shines, but it's cropped short.

I tear my gaze away from him. Picking up my own pencil, I write back.

"It's not my favorite. Not many people are interested in old people."

My note sounded a little snobby, but it was true. I only knew one person in my grade who liked History, and that was the guy who had no social abilities whatsoever. I fold the note back up and pass it to him. He opens it slowly.

His smile vanishes, quickly replaced by a solid, unreadable look. He scribbles down a response, then passes it over to me.

" I see." They were just two simple words. But they were filled with so much coldness I was shocked. I looked up to his face to see him staring straight ahead.

"Nice move, Jess," I think to myself. "He actually starts to talk to you, and you blow it in one sentence. Perfect."

History drags on and on. Damen doesn't look back at me once. The bell rings, and I slowly place my history book into my bag. I get up and walk over to the door, only to find Damen waiting for me.

"What is your next class?" He asks me. I look down at the schedule I'm holding.

"Um….French."

He smiles. "I will walk you there."

I stare at him, incredulous. "Oh….okay." I stammered. He just flashes me a smile.

The walk to French is filled with his non-stop questions about me. They are so basic, yet I have the feeling he already knows the answers before I say them. We stop at the door. His phone rings.

"Excuse me one minute," he bows and curtly walks away. I shake my head, trying to clear it of all the fuzz Damen has put in there and I walk into the classroom. The bell would ring in five minutes, so I decided to check my hair and grab a drink.

I pass by a bench that is hidden around the corner of the wall. I hear Damen speaking angrily through the phone.

"She is not overwhelmed, Alyssa! Everything is fine!" I duck behind the corner to listen in. There was silence. Someone was speaking on the other line. Damen starts up again.

"Just because the block didn't work does not mean that she knows everything about us! Look, I know it's her. Just give it a rest, will you?" More silence.

"You just have to trust me on this one, Lis." I realized he was talking to his sister. But about who? I hear yelling on the other end. When it stops, all is silent for a long while. Finally, Damen answers.

"Well, that changes everything."

Alyssa raises her voice on the other end. "The hell it does!"

I stifle a chuckle. Who knew Alyssa swore?

Damen murmurs something unintelligible for me to hear. All I catch Is my name. I know he knows I'm behind the corner now, so I run for it back to the door. I make it to my seat in time right before Damen walks in. He catches my gaze and shoots me a dazzling smile. I bow my head down and hide under my hair.

Luckily, the spots beside me are taken. He still sits close to me though. Only one other person separates me from him.

I was so confused. My feelings were split down the middle for him. On the one hand, it was like I couldn't get close enough to him. He was gorgeous, and he seemed a small bit interested in me. Who knows why, but he was.

On the other hand, I was terrified of him. Who was he? He was too perfect, too nice, and he didn't act like other guys. His moods changed swiftly, and I don't know where I stand with him, as of last period.

"I thought I wasn't going to let a guy get to me this year," I mumbled.

I could have sworn I heard a muffled laugh right after I said it.


	5. Chapter 5

_Chapter 5_

When the bell for lunch sounds, I nearly hop out of my seat. I had skipped breakfast and I was starving. My bag lugs up and down loudly on my shoulders as I jog to the cafeteria. I hear someone panting behind me, trying to catch up.

"Jess…wait. I can't…I can't run that fast." Kat's voice cracked through gasps of breath. I stop and turn around to wait for her.

"I was just jogging," I tell her as she comes to a stop beside me.

"Well, your idea of speed and mine are two totally different things," she glares at me teasingly.

"Your idea of speed includes a maximum of walking," I snicker at her.

She waves away the comment with her hand as we start walking. "No matter. Where were you for the first three periods?" She stares at me.

"I was…….uh………" I stammer lamely at her.

She stares at me. "Jess, if you were just sleeping late or something like that, I won't tell anyone. Everyone needs a break from getting up really early sometimes."

I smile at her. She knew me right on. "I was taking a bubble bath and relaxing," I tell her. She stops in her tracks and stares at me. She suddenly laughs hysterically, falling onto the grass and rolling over clutching her side.

"You…were taking…..a bubble bath?" She gasps out between laughs.

I glare at her. "Yes." My answer makes her laugh harder. "I'm leaving," I tell her. As I stalk off, I still hear her gasping for breath between laughs.

I make it over to the cafeteria doors before Kat can catch up to me. I swing them open with force, and one bangs into the side of the building. Several people turn around as I lower my head. "Oops," I mouth to myself. I walk throughout the rows of food, trying to find something decent. I pass by a strawberry muffin. I wasn't very hungry, so I picked it up and went off to pay.

Someone speeds by me and the muffin is out of my hands. I stop walking, my mouth hanging open. I look up. Damen is standing in front of me, with the muffin in his hands.

He bows slightly and says "Allow me." My mouth still hangs open as he quickly walks over to pay for _my_ muffin. I hear his silky, low voice murmur to the lady at the register. He is back quickly, with my strawberry muffin on a napkin. His lips curl upwards to reveal a beautiful smile and shining white teeth.

"May I accompany you at lunch today?" He asks me, one eyebrow arching perfectly.

I nod my head the tiniest bit. He hands me the muffin and grabs my free hand.

"I have a…rather special place to sit for lunch," he says. I'm being dragged carefully by him. I'm speechless and I don't know what to do. We walk through the school buildings until we reach the parking lot. He turns around and stops, still gripping my hand. "Do you mind if we skip the last two periods of school?" He asks me, a smile playing at the corner of his lips. All I can focus on is him. I don't care where we are. I nod my head. He smiles, then turns back towards the parking lot.

I decide to try speaking. It comes out in a small, shaky voice. "Where are we going?" Instead of answering, he smiles wider and pulls us toward a black Ferrari. Opening the passenger door for me he answers. "My house."

We speed along the freeway. Damen is exceeding the speed limit by about 30 miles, but only a few lone cars straggle behind us. I'm gripping the edges of my seat, hoping not to die from wreckless driving.

Millions of questions whirred through my mind. How could he afford this car? Why was he taking me to his house? What was I thinking getting in the car with him? As more questions popped into my head, his smile got wider. He suddenly looked down to me, then to my hands. He chuckles.

"We aren't going to crash. Relax, Jessica." I jumped a little at the sound of my name.

I breathed deeply before replying. "Why are you taking me….to your house? Why are you talking to me? Why are you…" I was cut off.

He took my left hand abruptly and looked me straight in the eyes. A small unconscious part of me knew we were going to die if he didn't look at the road, but all I could focus on was his eyes.

He spoke softly. "Jessica, do you trust me?" His voice was sweet and dangerous. Like a silk dress slowly being ripped apart at the seams.

I contemplated his question. Did I trust him? I don't think I did, but how could I say no to that voice? To that face? He was stunning. There was no word to describe him.

I finally answered. "I…I don't know." My voice wavered. He smiled, flashing gleaming teeth at me once more. I gasped.

It was like I was released from a dream. Seeing his pearl teeth brought me back to reality. It was as if the whole time I had been talking to him, I had been under a trance. His smile vanished, but he kept his gaze locked on me, as if he were concentrating hard. I turned my head away from him fiercely, looking at the window. It was only then that I realized that he wasn't looking where the car was going. He hadn't been watching anything but me for at least the last twenty seconds.

All this realization hit me in about three seconds.

I screamed. He grabbed my shoulder tightly, staring at me and shaking me. "Jessica, what's wrong?" His voice sounded agitated. I spun around and shrieked at him.

"Watch the road! We're going to die! Watch the road!" I started to hyperventilate. He still stared at me during the whole time. I finally got up the nerve to slap him. I put as much force into it as I could. I heard the contact, and I took him by surprise. His eyes opened wide, then he started laughing. He never turned once to look at the road.

I stare at him, rage and terror coming over me. Who _was _he? Why had I gotten in the car? It was probably the dumbest move I had ever made in my life. He stopped laughing right after I thought it.

He started to speak, but I cut him off. I stare straight ahead while I speak. I managed to achieve an ugly tone in my voice while speaking. "Take me back."

It was his turn to stare. "Excuse me?"

I turn to face him now as I speak the words one by one"Take. Me. Back."

He hears the undertone in my voice. His gaze turns cold. It makes me want to look away and whimper, but I stare straight back. I know if I lose staring at him, I lose my will to go back to the school.

"Jessica, I can't do that."

I feel my eyes narrowing. "Why not?"

His eyes turn to stone. "We are not going back to the school."

My voice turns into a sneer. "Why? Are you scared of English?"

He repeats what he said before. "We are not going back to the school."

I panic and turn to another tactic. "You can't keep me prisoner."

He doesn't waver. "Do you have a choice in the matter?"

My anger flares. "Yes! As a woman of the 21st century, I do. And you should respect that. If I had known you were going to kidnap me, I never would have gone with you. Even if my life had depended on it!" I'm almost shouting now.

With that, he turns his gaze back to the road. "You are staying with me, Jessica. I am truly sorry, but in this you do not have a choice."

I wail. "You are such a big-headed attention seeking…" I was cut off by a phone ringing.

Damen hasn't looked at me. For that, I'm grateful. He picks up the cell-phone that's ringing swiftly and holds it up to his ear.

"Hello." Someone was speaking on the other end. I tried to hear, but I see Damen's thumb press the sound noise softer, so I slump back in my seat.

"Yes, she is in the car. She isn't happy about it, but she's in the car." I hear laughter from the other end of the phone.

"No, I haven't explained anything to her yet," Damen says wearily. I can guess he and the other person on the phone are speaking about me.

There is silence for a moment before Damen replies, "I'll be home in about fifteen minutes." With that, he shut the phone as I sink back into my seat in defeat.

We stay silent for a long time. He stares at the road while a glare out the passenger window.

I break the silence with my question. "Why are you doing this to me?" I feel tears well up in my eyes, and my voice cracks. I will the tears to stay in my eyes.

Damen looks at me straight on, and turns my chin with his finger so that I look him in the eyes. "Jessica, if there was any other way, trust me, I would have found it already. I'm not keeping you prisoner." He sighs. "I'm giving you the choice of living."

The tears spill over as he finishes. I can't achieve more than a whisper as I speak. "A choice between life and death? Damen, if I'm being held captive, there is no life there. I might as well be dead in that case. Actually, I would prefer it. I'm not a slave."

Damen hisses under his breath. I gasp a small bit in surprise. His eyes turned completely black as I spoke.

He reaches for my upper arm and grabs it a little too tightly. "Jessica, don't you ever wish for death. Never."

I stare up at him. His eyes are still black. The only motion I can make is pointing up to his face, his eyes. A questioning expression crosses his face, then he realizes. He looks up to the rearview mirror. My hand is still floating lamely in the air.

His eyes slowly return back to their dark emerald green. I let out my breath, not realizing that I had been holding it. Damen looks back at me with sorrow in his eyes.

"I'm sorry you had to see that," he murmurs. He raises my hand lightly to his lips. I stare at him.

All I can manage out is, "Why?"

His expression turns sad. "Jessica, there are only three options for you. There always have been. I wish it were different." With that, he stops the car in front of a Silver plated house.


	6. Chapter 6

_ Chapter 6 _

Damen walks around to my door and opens it up for me. I still see a hint of remorse on his face. I slowly step out of the car. He pushes the car door closed with too much force, making it squeal slightly. He takes my hand and walks me up a large set of winding rock stairs that are on the left side of the house. A granite double door waits for us at the top, and Damen pushes it in effortlessly. It looks like it would weigh a lot more than what he made it seem.

I step into a large foyer. A mosaic of a wilting red rose is spread across the floor. White ornate stairs are seated in the far left corner, spiraling up towards the right. In the far right, carpeted stairs curve down to the left into the basement. I look to my right. An archway stands, opening up into a guest bedroom. My gaze falls to the left side of the room. A grander archway leads into a kitchen, but I can't see much of it. Looking up at the stairs again, I see four amazingly beautiful people smiling down at me. They didn't even compare to how handsome Damen was, but aside from him, they could out-beat supermodels.

They walk down the stairs lithely. I can only gape at them as Damen squeezes my hand.

The couple who looks slightly older addresses me first. "Jessica! How nice to have you here. I'm Aislinn, this is Charlie, and the others are Alyssa and Jack." The older woman greets me first. I look at her closely. Her blonde hair was almost white, but not in an elderly way. More of a striking way. She was tall and curvy. (something that I had never been). Her eyes were a rich purple, which made me intake my breath. She laughs at my reaction.

I turn to the man standing beside her. He introduces himself again. "I'm Charlie," he says politely to me, one chalky white hand extended towards me. I stare at him and shake his hand slowly. He is taller than Aislinn, but only by a few inches. His jet black hair had small waves that curved around his face, shaping it more.

I draw back my hand as the older couple slowly moves away and the younger couple steps up. The boy addresses me first. "Good day", he says in a throaty but smooth voice. He takes my hand and kisses it gingerly. I'm bewildered. He is slightly taller than Aislinn and his chocolate brown hair has a shine to it that catches in the light every time he moves. I draw back from him quickly and turn to the girl.

Her high voice pierces the silence. "Hi. I'm Alyssa." I'm surprised by how petite she is. She is the shortest of them all and very lithe, reminding me of a gymnast. Her sleek black hair tumbled down her shoulders, reaching her lower back. She approaches me wearily, a shy smile playing over her face.

She wraps her arms around me, giving me a hesitant hug. I stand there stupidly, not returning it. She peals back, an odd look on her face. When she looks me in the eyes, she just laughs.

I don't even notice what they're wearing; they are too stunning to notice the mundane things.

Aislinn's voice carries through the foyer. "Let's go sit and discuss in the family room." She takes Charlie's hand, and starts walking towards the right archway. Alyssa takes the boy's hand, who I assume is Jack. Damen pulls me forward, my left hand clasped awkwardly in his.

We reach the archway. What I had assumed to be a guest room was really a large living room with chestnut wooden walls and large glass doors. My mouth hangs open.

The room is vast and since not much furniture lies in the room, it looks large. I look around. A tan velvet couch faces north. A small rock table sits in front of the couch. To the north-east sits a large plasma screen T.V.

To my left, soft reclining chairs sit against the wooden wall. The carpet I stand on is filled with nature images, like deer and fawn prancing wildly through trees. I can't believe what I'm seeing.

Damen is _wealthy._

After I observe the room, Damen pulls me over to the couch. I sit down far away from him, but he pulls me closer. I refrain from rolling my eyes.

Alyssa and Jack take seats on the couch too. Charlie and Aislinn pull some chairs up to face Damen and I. Damen squeezes my hand before he starts speaking.

"May I begin, Charlie?" Damen addresses the older guy.

Charlie nods. Damen clears his throat and turns his body towards me. "Just to let you know, Charlie, Aislinn, and Alyssa are my biological siblings. Jack is Allysa's partner."

I refrain from giggling at his awkward wording for "lover."

Damen carries on, not noticing how hard it is for me to not laugh. "I know what people say about us at school, which is that my only biological brother is Lucius. That is incorrect." His tone borders on formal.

I think back to when Kat had told me about Damen's family. Apparently, rumor had spread to her too.

Damen continues. "Jessica, I know you won't believe half of what my family and I tell you. You will think we are just playing a joke on you. But let me assure you, I will not ever lie to you." I stare him straight in the eyes. He leans in towards me hesitantly. I don't move an inch. He gives me a quick peck on the cheek, then turns and looks to Alyssa. "Where to begin?" he murmurs to himself.

Alyssa seems impatient, so she picks up where Damen left off. "Jesse, wait, is it okay if I call you Jesse?" She looks at me, and I think yes in my head but I don't speak before she moves on. "Good. Jesse, we" she gestures around the room. "We aren't human." My mouth drops. What? She smiles at me before going on. "I know you think I'm crazy, but just listen. This is way hard to explain." She rubs her temples and turns to Jack. "Jack, explaining makes me so thirsty. Will you grab me a drink?"

He nods and flys out of the room. Not _flying_, but he moved so fast. It was like one second he was on the couch and the next I couldn't see him. He appears back in the room half a second later with a glass cup filled with red liquid. Alyssa takes it from him quickly and sips from the glass slowly. I turn to face Damen, but his face is stone.

"No so fast," Damen warns his sister.

"Ahh, Jesse will be fine." Her drink is gone.

"Anyways Jesse, where were we? Oh yes, we aren't human. Well, of course you are, but the rest of us aren't. You see what I just drank there? It's-." Alyssa is cut off by Damen.

"Alyssa! You are rushing it. I'll take it from here." I turn slowly towards him. _"Jessica, there are things that you might be hesitant to understand. You must_ believe us on this one, though. We are…." He pauses.

I whisper quietly. "Are what, Damen? Kidnappers? I don't want to be held here." I'm trying to keep from crying again, but it's not working so well.

Damen stares at me. "No, No! Of course not! That is……that is not what we are." I hear someone chuckle. I think it's Charlie. Damen tries to start up again. "We are…..well……..did you see what was in Alyssa's glass?" He tries to go subtle, but I don't know what he is working at.

I nod my head. "Fruit punch, I think. It was pretty thick though."

Damen looks at me sadly. "No, Jessica that wasn't fruit punch. That was blood, Jessica."

My eyes bulge. Was he a lunatic? I knew it was blood, but who did that? Only insane humans. Was he joking? He snatched me away from school so that I could see his wacko sister drink some blood. Eww! I was suddenly disgusted, and frightened. I scream at him.

"What kind of insane people do that?!?" I start to hyperventilate. I clutch my rib cage. My heart is beating too fast and it's really starting to hurt.

Damen grabs me and sets me on his lap. I thrash my arms and legs wildly, but it's no use. He has an iron grip. "Jessica, calm down." He tries to sooth me.

"Calm down?" I scream. "I'm in a house full of lunatics and you tell me to _calm down?!?" _I struggle more, but his grip becomes tighter around my waist. I scream again. "Let go of me! Let me go right now!"

Charlie was having a laughing fit while Aislinn had a glint of amusement in her eyes. Alyssa was by my side, taking my right hand and trying to calm me down. Jack stood to my left, looking a tad bored.

After a while, I gave up. I was getting tired and sweaty, and I wasn't in great fighting clothes. Damen eyes me wearily before asking, "Are you ready to listen?" I nod my head.

He sets me down right beside him, but still keeping his arm around my shoulder.

"Jessica, we aren't lunatics. We are vampires." Aislinn explains calmly, a glint of amusement still in her eyes.

Alyssa picks up. "You see, we were a family back in the 1600's. Aislinn, or _mom,_ was walking home from a theatre when some ravaged vampire came and bit her. She was the first turned. She couldn't bear to lose her family, so she came back and bit Charlie. Without his consent, of course. He was her first bite." Charlie laughs as Aislinn's face turns incredibly sad.

Alyssa goes on. "Of course, Lucius and Damen and I were terrified and actually," she giggles. "Damen barfed all over the floor as he saw mom bite dad." Damen glares at his sister. She raises her hands up in mock innocence. "We didn't see Charlie, or _dad_, until the next night when he was better. Mom explained to us what had happened to her. Lucius just laughed." Alyssa's face turned mean as she relived the thought.

"Anyways, Aislinn gave us the choice as living with them forever or, staying human. Since we were only ten at the time, it was a hard decision. We didn't choose for a long time." Alyssa laughs as she remembers. "I remember Aislinn always making us food. She used to always love bread and cheese, but after she was changed, she would make it quickly and try to get the smell of melted cheese out of the house. Aislinn and Charlie stayed the same, except for the physical looks. They acted like the parents they had before, just with more speed."

Alyssa murmurs something incomprehensible before she continues. "Lucius was the first to decide. He wanted to change, but when he was older, like nineteen or twenty. Aislinn agreed. I chose next. I had always looked up to my older brother and, if he chose something back then, I did too. I waited until I was eighteen." Alyssa looks sad as she finishes.

"Damen was the last to decide. He didn't want his family to stay perfect while he grew old. So, he was changed at nineteen." Alyssa finishes quietly. The silence hanging in the room is ringing through my ears. I shake my head and turn back to Damen.

I can barely manage a whisper. "Is…is this true?" I stare at his eyes. He nods slowly.

It gets harder for me to breathe. This couldn't be real. This couldn't be happening. I inhale breath heavily and wait for my head to stop spinning. All of the family's eyes are on me.

After what felt like forever, I turn to Alyssa again. "Jack?" Is all I can manage.

Jack explains this time. "I was born in the early 1700's, and Alyssa found me when I was nine. Aislinn took me in as her own, but…there's something you need to know about vampires, Jessica." I stare at him. What else is there?

I might as well be hallucinating. This makes as much sense as me being a giant squid turned into a human as an evil sorcerer.

Scratch that. That has nothing to do with what is going on now. Just a comparison.

Jack continues. "Everyone in the world has a mate, correct?" This was a theory I believed, so I nod my head. "Well, vampires do too. But when we see them, we are bound to them. The human has three choices after a vampire is bound to them." Jack pauses before continuing. "The first choice is to get turned and be bound to your soul mate forever, which is what I did when I turned nineteen." He turns to Alyssa with adoration in his eyes. "The second choice is…complicated. Once a vampire is bound to you, if you decline the offer, they will let you go. But you will cross paths with more vampires who will bind to you, and if you keep refusing, one will eventually turn you and you are bound to them."

I'm confused now. Jack sees the look on my face and explains. "You understand a vampire can be bound to you, correct?" I nod my head. I understand that much. "Well, every vampire has different venom. Not completely different. All venom has the same effect. But when a certain vampire bites you, the venom binds you to them. It is a biology thing for vampires." He smiles sheepishly.

I try to comprehend. "So, if one of you guys bit me, I would be bound to you? Like, I'm a part of you and your venom runs in my blood so, you're a part of me?"

Jack beams. "Exactly. So, you don't want to be bitten by another vampire, unless they are your soul mate. You can't break a bind." I shudder. He continues onto the third option. "The third option is to die."

I blink twice. As simple as that? You just…die?

Jack nods. "Yes."

"I didn't say anything," I tell him, getting confused.

Damen chuckles. "Alyssa forgot to tell you something, Jessica." There is amusement in his eyes as I turn towards Alyssa.

Alyssa giggles. "Oh yes. All vampires can read anyone's mind. Even other vampires minds."

I gape at her. So, basically this whole time I've been thinking about how hot and how annoying Damen is, he had been listening?

Damen smiles. "Yes ma'am," he replies. Charlie and Aislinn burst into laughter, reading my mind. I'm sure I'm turning tomato red right now, which makes them laugh harder.

When the laughter dies down, I have a serious question to ask. I turn to Aislinn, knowing she will answer me honestly. "So, where do I fit in with all of this? Am I dinner tonight?" I try to joke, but Damen's gaze turns cold.

Aislinn replies. "No Jess, you aren't dinner."

I'm getting more confused by the second. "Then why am I here?" I turn to Damen.

He doesn't answer, but keeps his head lowered, as if in shame. Alyssa answers for him. "Damen is bound to you."

Oh. Oh! Well, everything is clear now. I forget for a minute that my thoughts aren't kept to myself anymore. I look toward Damen.

"Damen, I'm…..uh……..flattered. But, I don't know if I believe all of this. It seems so superficial. Am I on camera being filmed for a reality show?" I'm completely serious about the last part.

Charlie's laugh booms through the room. "Jessica, you ARE NOT being taped or filmed or recorded. Nothing like that."

"So, basically, I'm here to make my decision? Out of the three choices?" I ask wearily. I see Alyssa nod her head. My head swirls and I panic. "I can't decide yet! I mean, I barely know Damen!"

Alyssa is over to me in a flash. "Come on, Jess. I think the guys need some alone time." Aislinn is by me in a flash.

"We'll explain to you the rest of what they didn't say", she tells me. I'm leaded out of the room and up the stairs as I ponder where my life has taken me.

"So….if I become a vampire, then I can't get…pregnant?" I ask Aislinn wearily. I hated this subject.

The two vampires I'm in the room with burst into laughter. "That's correct", Aislinn manages to gasp out between laughs.

"And, if I let Damen bite me, then he is my soul mate? Forever?" Forever was a long time.

Alyssa answers me this time. "You already are his soul mate. It just depends on whether you choose to accept that or not."

Alyssa makes everything so straight-forward. I like that about her.

The thing that has me confused is why I feel a magnetic pull to Damen. Alyssa answers the question that had pummeled into my head.

"That's the bind!" Alyssa almost jumps into the ceiling with glee. "Yeah! At first I was worried that you weren't the one that Damen was looking for but obviously you are! Whoo!"

Aislinn is laughing at Alyssa's reaction. I'm gaping at her. Something clicks in my head as she is rejoicing.

"Alyssa!" I shout at her. She stops mid-bounce and stares at me.

"What?" she asks.

"That text was from you, wasn't it?" I say, remembering the mysterious text I had gotten only a few days before.

"Uh…what?" Alyssa reaches through my mind until she finds what I'm thinking about. "Oh. Oh! That got sent to you?!? Oh my gosh, I'm such an idiot. You must've had a great impression of us then, right?" Alyssa mumbles on about how careless she was.

I stop her. "Alyssa. Why did you send it to me?"

"Oh, that was a mistake. You see, I had just called you, and so your number was at the top of the list. I probably just didn't scroll down to Damen's number. That's all."

"Oh. Well, that makes sense", I reply stupidly.

Another thought comes to mind.

"Alyssa?" I ask her again.

"Yes?"

"You are probably going to get mad at me, but I walked by when Damen was on the phone with someone right before French started. Was he on the phone with you?" I finish in a small voice.

Alyssa is quiet for a while. "Yes, that was me."

"So, what was going on?" I ask her.

"You heard about Lucius," she replies, saying it as a statement. I nod my head anyways. "Well, let's say he isn't on good terms with us. He tries to take away everything we have. And now, he is coming for you."

I hear my intake of breath, but I don't feel it. "Why?" I whisper.

"Because he thinks you are his soul mate. He wants to take everything away from Damen." I hear the frustration in Alyssa's voice, so I decide to try to end the conversation.

"Oh." I say. She isn't finished speaking, though.

"That is why you are staying here, and that is why you couldn't finish school today."

I'm shocked by what she says. "Wait, I'm staying here?"

Alyssa nods her head. "Don't worry, your mother is fine with it and is perfectly safe. We told her you had a school trip for two weeks. Lucius should be gone by then." She smiles at me. "Anyways, you can either have your own room or you can bunk with me."

"Wait, you can sleep?" Alyssa laughs at my question.

"Of course! We don't need it, but it's restful. Doesn't do much for us, though. It's not bad to waste time when you have all the time in the world." She laughs again. "Wait! Before we get all your stuff from your house, I need to show you some stuff." She leaps off of the couch she had been sitting on and takes my hand. She leads me down a hallway and opens up a wooden door.

"This is my room, and yours temporarily until we can clean out a beautiful bedroom for you," she says, and pulls me towards a drawer. She pulls open a compartment and holds a small plastic card.

"This is for you. You will need a credit card if you're going to be part of this family." Alyssa laughs. "Oh, and by the way, feel free to call me Lys."

I stare at the credit card that is plopped into my hand. How do they get all this money? I think to myself before it's too late to stop it.

Alyssa's smile stays in place. "Don't feel rude about wondering", she says. "Well, we have lived for a while, and when you have the ability to read people's minds, Los Vegas is a wonderful place." She laughs.

I stare at her and then start laughing too. For the first time today, I feel comfortable.

"Dinner is ready!" I hear Aislinn call from downstairs.

Lys tries to pull me towards the door, but I stay frozen. "What's wrong, Jess?" She asks me.

I don't know how to tell her. "I'm…..not going to, uh……..drink blood." I stutter out. Lys stares at me and then starts laughing, clutching her side.

"Of course not! We made spaghetti", she tells me.

I sigh in relief and walk down the stairs to eat dinner with vampires.


	7. Chapter 7

_ Chapter 7_

I walk into the dining room with Alyssa, hand in hand. Her skin is cold, but when she sees me shiver, she just smiles and laughs. I hadn't noticed before that Damen's skin was that cold.

I notice that the room we walk into is filled with glass trinkets. A wooden table sits off to the right. Carvings swirl throughout the wood. I take my gaze to the people standing behind the table. Charlie and Aislinn are close together while Jack and Damen converse quietly until they hear us in the room.

Jack turns and looks adoringly at Alyssa. Damen's gaze falls from mine and to the floor.

"He is embarrassed you found out that way, that's all." Alyssa's whisper reaches my ear.

Aislinn saves me from an awkward conversation with Damen by saying "Dinner's ready!"

I walk over to the table, commenting on how beautiful it is.

Aislinn beams with pride as she says "The table was my grandfathers. I went to court to get it from my sister." We all laugh at that.

I take a seat by Alyssa. Damen fills the empty seat next to me. Butterflies flutter around my stomach.

Was I really sitting to someone that handsome? I look over to check to find him staring at me. His dark emerald eyes bore into mine, reminding me of an earlier question I had.

I turn to Aislinn. "Um….why do you all have different eye colors?" I look at Aislinn's. Hers are purple.

Jack laughs as Aislinn answers. "The color of vampires eyes depend on who they were as a human. They reflect your personality, or as others call it, your aura."

"Oh." Is all I can say in response. I look around the table to the pairs of eyes all concentrating on me. I stare closely at the eyes. Damen's are a dark emerald green, greener than a human's eyes can get. Charlie's sea blue eyes had a hint of green in them. Aislinn's were a vivid purple.

I turn towards the other side of the table. Jacks eyes are a dark ruby pink. I can't help but giggle. What vampire has pink eyes?

I forgot that he could read my mind. His gaze turns ice cold and I apologize in my head. _"Sorry! Sorry! Sorry!" _

He chuckles at my thoughts and lets my previous thoughts go. I sigh in relief and turn towards Alyssa. I hadn't noticed her eyes before. I gasp a small bit.

Her eyes are a bottomless pit of silver. They shine even in the dim glow of the candles Aislinn had set out, and they looked like silver ringlets that didn't stop. I gasped again when I saw the swirls that rimmed the silver.

Alyssa laughs at my response. "I will tell you later about what each color means," she tells me.

I nod my head.

"Let's begin eating", Aislinn says while pushing the bowl of spaghetti over to me. I feel like a pig taking first, but they insist I do. I take as little as possible to stop my hunger. Alyssa laughs at my thoughts, and for the first time that night, Damen smiled. I smile back at him, glad that I could amuse him.

I then realized what I had just thought. Why did I want to make him happy? I barely know him. The thought sent shivers down my spine, but I remembered that all the other people in the room were listening to my thoughts in time to stop it. I would ask myself that question later.

I replaced that question with one that had been bothering me. "So…being bound to someone…does that mean, like, being married?" I turn to Alyssa.

Damen answers me. "On a larger level, yes. Being bound to someone is like finding your other half. A person can only be bound once. You love them for your whole existence."

I nod my head and try to act cool, but on the inside I'm trembling. Do I want to spend my whole life with him?

"Wait", I say. "You said whole _existence. _Don't you mean lifetime?"

Damen's eyes turn sad. "No, Jessica. I mean existence. We are…immortal."

I stare at him. Immortal? So, I would be stuck on the earth _forever?_ Like, forever?

He answers my unsaid question. "Yes."

All I can stutter out is "Oh."

Silence fills the room. I'm sure that they are all looking into my mind to see my reaction, and I try to stop the thoughts, but I can't. Stuck on earth? Forever? Being bound to this guy whom I barely know? Forever?

I realize after some time that all my questions revolve around the topic of forever. I shake my head and try to think back to my three options. One; accept being bound to him…forever. Two; let other vampires eat me. Three; Die.

The third options looks best…at the moment.

Alyssa frowns at the thought.

"_Fine, Fine"_, I think sarcastically. I rethink my options. Two is out of the question. I either have to choose one or three. I'm not going to be a snack for random vampires.

There are a few things that bother me about option one, though. How could this guy like me? Are they just playing a joke? Am I ready to commit to something stronger than marriage? Am I ready to give up my…..

I stop my thoughts mid-track when I remember they are all listening in. I hold up my hand. "Would it be okay to ask if I could only have Lys in my head?" Alyssa beams.

"Of course, Jess." She tells me. She gives me the okay signal when everyone else is out of my head. I smile at her before picking up where I left off.

Am I ready to give up my soul? I know that sounds cheesy, but it's true. Vampires lose their souls.

Or so I thought.

"_Your soul will never be gone, it will just change into something else."_ I hear a voice tell me. It sounds like Alyssa's.

"What?" I say out loud, but only to realize no one had said anything out loud. I turn to Alyssa. She smiles.

"When we want humans to hear our thoughts, they can." She tells me.

I gape at her. So I had heard her in my mind? Bizzare.

Her smile increases as I close my eyes and begin my thoughts again.

Okay, so I won't lose my soul. How do I know I love Damen? How do I know I even like him?

Stupid question. I had drooled over him since the first day I saw him.

Lys smiles at the last part.

Moving on. How does he know he is bound to me? Will I be bound to him? What if he gets bored of me? What about my family? Why did he choose me?

Lys stops me right there. "_It's more like your blood chose him."_

I sigh. So, he only likes me because of my blood?

Lys's voice sounds shocked. _"No! It just makes the bind between you two stronger. It's more like…how do I say this? Fate wants you two to be together. You would have found each other anyways."_

I stifle a sigh. Fate? I'm not sure if I could believe in that. I'm starting to get a headache from all the thinking, so I call it a day with my mental struggles.

I address them all. "Thank you. For dinner, and for letting me be alone with my…uh…thoughts. I should probably get home, though, because it will be late soon." I realize after I say the words that I wasn't going home. "Oh…right….I'm staying here." I feel like a total idiot.

Charlie's face turns into regret. "I am very sorry about that. We just….need to keep you safe until you make your decision."

"I understand", I murmur, looking down to the table. Damen stands up and takes my hand.

"I am going to take Jessica for a walk", he tells his family. I blush. He had only said it out loud for my benefit. We walk away from the table, hand in hand.

We are both silent as we step into the night. I can't understand the look on his face. I try to solve the first question that I've been asking for the last couple of hours.

"You aren't playing a joke on me, are you?"

He whirls around to face me, shock clear on his face. "Why would we do that, Jessica? Binds are a serious matter, and I wish that you could understand them."

I stare at him before mumbling, "I wish I could too." We stand there like that for minutes on end. Finally, he speaks.

"Jessica, I'm so sorry. I didn't want to cause anyone trouble, especially you. But, now, you are stuck with a choice that could have been delayed further. And I am so sorry for that." He cups my face in his hands, stroking my cheek with his thumb.

"What do you mean delay?" I stutter. His touch sends tingles through me.

"Well, either I would have met you later, or other vampires would have. Fate chooses certain humans to become vampires, Jessica. I am just so sorry that you are one of the humans fate chose, Jessica."

I stare at him, wanting to be full of confusion and anger. But all I can concentrate on is his face. His emerald eyes are drenched in sorrow. His golden-wheat hair glistened in the moonlight, and his pale skin reflected the moon's light, sending dancing shimmers onto the ground.

He was beautiful.

"How….how do you know you want me?" I ask him quietly. "How do you know you only want my blood?"

He stares at me, his face turning stronger and surer.

"Jessica, do you believe in love at first sight?"

I shake my head. It isn't possible.

"Well, Jessica, it is possible. I didn't believe it either, until I saw you. Of course I want your blood. That's part of being bound to someone. But I forgot your blood for a while, because just seeing you, I knew that I wanted to spend forever with you. It is an inescapable part of me. You are my other half, and now that I have seen you, talked to you, and you know who I really am, I can't live without you. Jessica, if you choose the option of death, I die too. Your bind breaks when one person dies. Jessica, that is the only way to kill a vampire. We are selfish, and cruel, all of that is true. But what isn't true is, once you have found your other half, you aren't completely immortal anymore. You can be killed. And honestly, I don't want to live without you ever again."

I stare at him. Had he just said that he loved me? And not because of my blood?

He laughs at my thoughts, but says nothing.

"I….I don't accept…right now." I stutter. His face drops a little. "I want to get to know you first. I don't want to dive into something."

"I understand", he says sincerely.

"So…before I become your eternal wife, or whatever", I say as he chuckles, "I want to know that…that you're really the one I am supposed to 'marry' or whatever."

He brings my hand to his lips. "Of course."

"Oh!" I say. "One more thing. If I'm going to be spending a lot of time with you, you might as well shorten my name."

He laughs. "I can do that", he tells me.

I smile, and he pulls me to him hesitantly, kissing me.

Alyssa is waiting at the front door. She is bouncing up and down, bursting with excitement. I smile at her, then look up to Damen. He is laughing at his little sister.

"Lys, do you need to use the restroom? That hasn't happened for at least 300 years." Damen smirks at his sister.

She frowns at him before replying "No. But I am going to steal Jesse away from you!" She grabs my free hand and starts to pull me towards the stairs. Damen kisses me swiftly on the cheek before disappearing into the family room.

"Lys! I am seriously going to fall on my face if you don't slow down!" I tell her.

"Fine, fine", she says exasperatingly. We still make it up the stairs in about three seconds. I'm panting at the top.

She rolls her eyes and laughs. "You see? Being a vampire isn't always bad. I am totally going to race you when you become one of us!" She is bouncing up and down again. I stop in my steps.

"Wait. _When_ I become one of you?" I ask her wearily.

Alyssa sighs impatiently. "Jess, we all know what happened outside. You see? You love Damen! Which means that you're gonna become one of us! Yippee!"

Wait…back up. I love Damen? My mind swirls around that while Lys bounds around the upstairs happily.

"Uh….Lys", I say wearily. "I don't even know Damen. And spending forever down here? I'm just not so sure."

She stops mid-leap, sadness filling her silver eyes. Tears brim over the edges. "Oh Jess", she wails. "Please think about it. I really don't want to be the only female teenager around here. And I don't want to lose Damen. Please please please think about it!" I see her sob. I feel horrible and like a total mud puddle. (That is my way of saying, crap).

"Alyssa, I will consider it. I promise. I think it would be totally awesome to have a weird eye color." I look at her and see her face light up a little. "But I do need to think about it. This is a lot to take in in one night."

She wipes her eyes. "I know", she tells me. "But I don't want to be alone anymore! I can't lose Damen. He is my brother. The only good one I have." Lys finishes in a whisper.

I am seriously on the verge of just letting vampires eat me.

"Lys, why me? Why is this happening to me?" I meet her tone in a whisper.

She stares at me a long time. "Jess, you have the chance at eternity with an awesome guy, a family that cares, and me! Are we really that bad?"

"No, no! Lys, that's not what I meant. It's just, how am I supposed to choose? I have a short while to decide whether I want to spend eternity with a guy I barely know, be eaten by vampires, or die. This isn't really an easy choice. I do like you guys, well, from the past couple hours I've spent with you. I'm….I'm just not sure whether I'm ready to commit to something like this. What if….what if Damen gets bored of me? What if he doesn't love me after a century or two? What if…" I get cut off.

"Jess. For one thing, he won't get bored of you. He actually won't shut up about you." I giggle a little at this. "And another thing, you don't have to decide yet! Just give it some time. He is a really good guy, and I just hope that you choose us." Alyssa has a stern tone in her voice.

"I'll try to make the right choice then, I guess", I tell her. She sighs.

"You better", she mutters under her breath. "Well, let's go get ready for bed. I'm going to go say goodnight to Jack. Do you want to go talk to Damen quickly?" Lys waggles her eyebrows. I laugh.

"Do I have a choice?" I say to her.

"No. Now come on!" She pulls me by the hand and down a hallway. She runs quickly, and my feet won't let me stay with her. In conclusion, I'm stumbling down the hall while she gracefully leaps over the carpet. She stops abruptly at a red wood door.

Her abrupt stop sends me crashing into her. I crumple to the floor as she stays standing, smiling down at me.

She bends down and says "Another vampire advantage."

I glare at her while she smiles sweetly. She helps me to my feet right as the door opens.

Jack stands there, his ruby-pink eyes glistening in the dim light. He steps over lightly to Alyssa and kisses her on the cheek. She giggles as he turns to me and says "Good evening, Jessica."

Lys stares at Jack. "Are you trying to freak her out, Jack? That's what those creepy vampires say in the movies."

Jack stares back at her, amusement sparkling in his eyes. "Just trying to be polite", he offers kindly.

"Ignore him, Jess. He's just trying to freak you out." Lys tells me.

"Okay." I tell her.

Jack turns back to me. "Did you want to see Damen?"

I shoot a glance at Lys. Her stare says to keep my mouth shut about her dragging me over.

I stifle a sigh. "Yes", I tell him. I shouldn't pick a fight with Lys. She would win.

"Walk down the hallway. Two doors down on your left should be his room." Jack says to me.

"Thanks."

Lys shoots me one last thing before Jack grabs her. "Oh! Jess? Meet me back in our room, kay?"

I try hard not to barf. I don't want to know what she's going to do with Jack. Bleh. "Okay!" I tell her, and race down the hall so I can get away from her and Jack.

I reach Damen's door. I breathe deep and raise my hand up to knock. Before I can, the door opens. He stands there, his hair tousled, but he is still in jeans and a T-shirt. My heart skips a beat. _Wow._

His eyebrow arches. "Yes?" He asks me.

"Uh…Lys said I should come down and…uh…talk to you", I say lamely.

I see laughter in his eyes. "Okay. Come in", he says politely. I step in warily, avoiding his gaze by looking around the room. The walls are white and black, abstract patterns falling in and out of each other. A black quilt rests on a king size bed on the right wall. A large plasma screen T.V. sits in the wall, allowing the person in bed to watch T.V. I gape at the room. It's huge.

"Would you like to sit down?" He asks me. I nod my head.

He gestures towards a chair a few feet away. I walk quickly towards it and sit down, crossing my legs. He takes a seat on the edge of the bed, turning to face me. I stare at the ground silently as he stares at my face.

"Well?" he prompts.

"I…I don't know. Alyssa just told me to come." I sound like an idiot.

"Well, I would guess she meant do you have any questions? For me?"

I thought through my mind. Now that I thought about it, I did.

"Um…yah. I do have a few questions." I raise my head to look at him.

"And they are?" He asks, a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

I bite my bottom lip. This is uncomfortable. "What am I supposed to call you? I mean, if you're bound to me and I'm bound to you. Like, you're my husband?"

He chuckles. "You understand humans that aren't bound to one of us cannot know about…our species. Correct?"

I nod my head.

He continues. "So, to humans, we would be married. Heck, we could throw a ceremony if that would suit you better." I blush at that. "But, to other vampires, we are known as ties. So, for example, you are my tie."

"Do you spell that the same way as a neck tie?" I ask him. He smiles full on now.

"Did you not see the connection, Jess?" I beam at him using my nickname. "Necktie?"

It takes a second for it to click. The _neck_. "Oh", I say.

He chuckles. "Would you like to know a random fact?"

"Sure," I say.

"Neckties were invented back when humans knew about us. They were supposed to cover up their necks so we couldn't bite them. Of course, it is just customary for us to bite the neck. The bite will work anywhere, even a foot."

I feel a little queasy now. "Oh," I say.

He obviously sees that I'm not feeling too well after that. "Jessica, I didn't mean to nauseate you," he tells me softly. "I'm truly sorry. Can you forgive me?" He comes to kneel on the floor by me.

The nausea passed now that he was close to me. I turn to look towards him. His eyes glow.

"Do you forgive me?" He asks again.

My voice sounds strong as I answer him. "Yes." He pulls me into a cautious hug at that. I wrap my arms around his back slowly. I smile. Maybe this could work.

He pulls away. "Do you have any more questions?" He asks me.

I think hard. "A few."

He smiles at me. "Let's only ask two more tonight. We need something to talk about later." I laugh at that, but I don't get the joke until I leave the room.

"Okay. So, can vampires, you know, turn into bats?" He stares at me and starts laughing hysterically.

When he regains the ability to speak, I stare at him, feeling a little stern. "Well?" I ask.

"No." He says. "We can most certainly not shape-shift, Jesse."

I breathe a sigh of relief. I can't be in love with a bat. It just wouldn't happen.

"Okay. Question number two," I say. "Let's say I do….take option number one."

I couldn't bring myself to say 'become a vampire'. "Would I get fangs?"

Damen stares at me. His face is serious. He stays silent for a long time before answering. "Yes, Jesse. You would get fangs. But you can learn to retract them, so they just look like normal canines. You will learn after fifty years or so."

"Can I see you…uh….retract them?" I ask him lamely.

"Will you pass out?" He asks me.

I gulp. "No."

He sighs and smiles. His teeth hurt to look at; they're too white, too shiny. I look over to one of his canines. I stare at them, thinking my mind is playing a trick on me, until I realize that it's growing. Or retracting or whatever. My breath catches in my throat. The sight terrifies me.

But only because I _want _ him to bite me. I want him to change me, and I'm terrified. Damen sees the alarm playing across my face and misreads it. He quickly shuts his mouth and I assume he pulls his teeth in again.

He rushes over to me quickly as I try to understand why I would want him to bite me.

I remember too late that he reads my mind.

He stops in his tracks. Confusion crosses his face, then it lights up with amusement. Crap.

"Jessica, it's only normal to start feeling the bind," he says calmly. "Even when you're human, it hits hard."

I'm shaking my head. How could I have let him read my mind. He starts walking towards me, but I back away.

"I need to leave now," I tell him.

He is blocking the door from me in an instant. I shake my head. How did he do that?

"Vampire speed," he tells me.

Dang. He read my mind again.

"Jesse, I'll let you leave. I'm not going to lock you in my room. That is a little too overprotective, don't you agree?" His smile is overwhelming, but I fight it. I will not let him win right now. I'm leaving, and he can't stop me, even with his unnatural strength and speed.

"Let me leave," I say, putting as much force into my voice as I can. It doesn't work, because he smiles wider.

"Okay, Jesse. Goodnight." Right as I think he is about to let me go, he pulls me into a hug and kisses me. I can't fight back on this one. I fall limp into his arms. He pulls away laughing, and kisses me on the forehead. "Goodnight Jess," he tells me softly as I stumble out the door.


	8. Chapter 8

I just wanted to say thanks to all of you who review! It helps me to write a TON!!!!! Hope you guys like this next chapter! I find it kind of funny xD ***happy reading!***

_Chapter 8_

I stumble through the hallway as quickly as I can. What conscious part of me had known I was getting in a car with Damen Shae? That may have been the biggest mistake of my life. A different voice pops into my head.

"_Or the best thing you could have ever done."_

"Shut up," I mumble, knowing it's Lys popping into my head. She stays silent after murmuring _"Damen is listening to you right now. Be nice."_

I sigh. How am I going to choose? Yesterday I was worrying about my grades and what I was going to do about Kat bouncing after other guys while having a boyfriend. Now I'm deciding whether to change my soul or give up my life. And someone else's. Great.

I reach the door that leads to Alyssa's room. I open it quickly, hoping to go to bed quickly. I see Lys sitting cross-legged on her bed.

"Okay, Jesse. Big decision time." Lys smiles at me. Wait, it was already time to decide whether I wanted to spend forever with Damen or not?

Lys laughs, reading my mind again. "We'll be more lenient than that, Jess. You have two more weeks at the least."

I sigh in relief. "Good," I tell her.

"The decision I was talking about was where you want to sleep. Because I'm not staying up two weeks waiting for you to decide." Lys laughs.

"Wait," I say. "I thought you didn't need sleep."

"I don't, but it's a nice way to relax. I mean, we are never fully asleep again, but….it's like dozing off. It's a good way to relax." She replies calmly.

"Oh." I wonder to myself why that is all I've been able to say for the past day.

"Okay!" Lys interrupts my thoughts. "So, you can either have my bed, the couch, or the love-sack over in the corner. It's your choice."

I look around for my choices. I wasn't going to take Alyssa's bed away from her, so it's between the couch and the love-sack.

"Um…. Would it be okay if I switch off between the couch and the love-sack?" I ask her.

Her face drops. "What's wrong?" I ask.

"Do you not want to use my bed because it's infested with vampire cooties or something?" She says quietly.

Oh crap. "No, that's not at all it." I tell her. "It's just I don't want to take away your bed from you. That sounds rude."

I feel her rummage through my mind to see if I'm telling the truth. When she is satisfied that I am, she bounds over to me, kisses me on the cheek, and says "Thanks."

"Mmmhmm." I mumble back to her.

"I'll be right back," she says to me. "I need to go get you some blankets. Oh! And where are you sleeping tonight?"

"The love-sack."

"Okay." I can't see her move, but one second she is in the room and the next, she's gone. I sigh. I won't get used to that.

Lys is back quickly. I only had a second to collect my thoughts before she comes back in, holding a pile of neatly folded blankets.

"So, why did you choose to sleep on the love-sack tonight?" Lys asks me. I hear the double meaning in her voice. She wants to know if it has to do with Damen.

I am too embarrassed to say it out loud, so I think it quickly. _"I just want to curl in on myself and die. Why is this happening to me?"_

Alyssa freezes in her place. I know she heard my thoughts, and I feel horrible. But it's true. I just want to curl up in a tight ball and disappear.

"Jess, please don't think that." She says quietly. " I know it looks bad. I remember having to choose this. Or, along the lines of this. It was hard. But please, think about it. It really isn't that bad."

I answer in a small voice. "Lys, I will think about it. Honestly. It's just, right now, I am scared and confused and…this just doesn't seem real. Or I thought it wasn't real until Damen showed me his fangs and then……" I was cut off.

Lys is by me in a second, gripping my upper arms. "He did what?" She said each word slowly, and achieved to actually sound….scary.

"He….he showed me his fangs." I stutter out.

Alyssa hisses under her breath. "That idiot." She runs out the door.

"Wait! Alyssa!" I forgot to tell her that I was the one who asked to see his fangs.

She comes back in the room silently. "Yes?" She asks, impatience heavy in her voice.

Wow. I don't know how to say this. "I sorta….might have…uhm……..asked to see his fangs." She stares at me.

"Why on earth did you do that?" She says.

"I just wanted to know if…if I did choose," I force the next words out. "To become a vampire, if I would have fangs."

Alyssa stares at me, then starts laughing. "You are one of the oddest humans I have ever met. You act completely terrified of us, then you ask to see our fangs." She bursts into rolling fits of laughter.

"I'm glad you find it funny," I mutter under my breath as I pick up the pile of blankets she had put on the floor. Lys is still laughing as I curl into the love sack with a fuzzy blanket around me.

When she finishes laughing, she asks me a serious question. "Jess?"

"Hmm?"

"Will you answer my next question honestly? I mean, I know I can rummage through your head to see if you are, but I want you to tell the truth. Will you promise to answer honestly?"

I'm almost asleep, so I murmur "Mmmhhm…."

Lys takes a deep breath. "What choice are you thinking on right now?"

My eyes snap open. Crap. I shouldn't have agreed to answer honestly.

"Lys, I really don't know."

Lys jumps onto her bed and worms herself under the sheets. "Well, which one are you verging on right now? Like, which one the most?"

I sigh. "I'll tell you when I know Damen isn't listening in."

"Okay. Give me one minute to tell him." Lys falls silent while she speaks to Damen telepathically. I wouldn't get used to that, even as a vampire.

"Okay Jess. You're clear."

"Promise?" I ask her.

"Yes."

"Okay…" I take a deep breath. "Well, three is out of the question. I can't take Damen away from you by killing myself. So, I guess it's either one or two."

Lys squeals. "Yeah! That means that you're going to choose one! Yeah!"

I shake my head in the darkness. "No, Lys. It means I'm choosing one OR two. And right now, I'm leaning towards two."

Lys stops. "Jess, sorry to burst your bubble, but two is basically the same as three."

I go through the options over in my head. One, get a tie with Damen. Two, let other vampires eat me or change me. Three, die.

I'm confused. "Wait, how is two the same as three?"

Alyssa is quiet for a minute. "Shoot. We forgot to tell you something."

"What?"

"On option two, either the vampires will kill you or change you. If they kill you, Damen dies. If they change you, Damen loses his soul."

Oh. Crap.

"So on two, Damen will get hurt either way." I say slowly.

"Yes," Lys says.

We are silent for a long time until I ask "Is there a fourth option?" I know there isn't, but maybe the Shae's are holding back on me. Maybe I can stay human and leave this town, and never ever turn back.

"No."

"Do you swear that there isn't any other option?" I ask cautiously.

Lys sighs and says loudly in my head _"I swear on my eternal changed soul that there is no other option." _

I moan. So, either I hurt the Shae family or I become an immortal. For the first time in my life, I wish I didn't have moral standards.

"Well, I guess that does it for me. Crap."

Alyssa squeals and jumps out of her bed. "Yes! I knew it! I knew you would choose the right decision!" She comes and hugs me, then dances around the room.

"Lys!" I hiss at her.

She stops. "Yeah?"

"So I know what I'm going to choose, but tuck that in the back of your head. I still want to get to know Damen. If there is even a chance that I could like him, I want it. Right now, the only reason I'm choosing is because I don't want to hurt you guys."

Lys stops. "Okay," she tells me. "But you will not change your mind, correct?"

I sigh. "I swear that I won't change my mind."

She giggles. "Yeah! I'm so glad I'm not alone anymore!"

"Oh, Lys? One more thing."

"Yep?"

"Don't tell anyone about my decision yet. If you do, I won't be able to get to know Damen. This is just between you and me. If I'm going to be stuck in eternity with someone, I want to really know them at the least. Kay?" I finish quickly.

Lys's face falls. "Damen will be so agitated the next couple of weeks though."

"Lys please!" I beg. "What is two weeks when you have eternity?"

She sighs. "Fine. But you owe me big time!"

"Thank you."

Alyssa goes back to her bed. As she is about to go to bed, she turns around with amusement hanging heavy in her voice.

"Oh, Jesse?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you still have that credit card I gave you earlier?" Her shrill voice cuts through the darkness as I rummage through my purse that is sitting on the ground by me.

"Yes, why?"

"Because, we are going shopping tomorrow."

I wish I had lost the credit card.

Alyssa's voice wakes me up. "Jess! Come on! Aislinn made pancakes for you and since you're the only one who needs human food, get your butt up and eat! We want to hit the mall by ten."

I groan. My groggy voice vibrates through the room. "What time is it?"

"8:45 A.M."

I groan again. "Let me sleep. It's too early." I'm about to lay my head back down, but I'm yanked up by a cold hand. "Hey!" I protest.

"Put these on." Lys hands me some slippers.

"Why?"

"Because Charlie was trying to help Aislinn make the pancakes and he dropped a glass bowl. We don't want you stepping on any glass shards."

"Didn't you guys have time to clean it up?" I ask, feeling a little more awake.

"We did. But if we missed any pieces, that would be bad."

"Oh. Okay." I slip the slippers on carefully. When I'm done, Lys takes my hand and runs toward the stairs. "Lys! I'm barely awake, and I can't even see you when you move. Slow down!"

She sighs. "Fine. Humans are so slow."

"And proud of it." I grin at her. She rolls her eyes.

We walk into the kitchen to find the rest of the family awake. Aislinn is standing by the table, a steaming hot plate of pancakes in her hands. Charlie is reading the newspaper. Jack is pouring himself a glass of orange juice….wait no…blood. Damen is leaning casually on the table, smiling at me.

I forgot to brush my hair. Crap. His smile goes wider as he reads my thoughts. I frown.

Why should I care if he sees my hair all ratty? I shouldn't, but I do.

Aislinn's soft voice is directed to me. "We made you pancakes. I hope you like them."

Of course she knows they are my favorite dish for breakfast. She read my mind. "I love pancakes," I say to her. Her smile widens.

"Good. Damen, there are five pancakes here, and honestly, with Jessica's petite frame, I'm guessing she can only eat three. Help her finish the other two."

Damen stands up and walks over to me. "Certainly." I feel an arm wrap around my waist. Oh!

I jump a little. The whole family tries to keep from laughing. Damen's smile just grows wider.

This is embarrassing. What made Damen come on all strong now?

Oh yah. I wanted him to bite me last night.

I push the thought quickly out of my mind so he doesn't read it as I take a seat to devour my pancakes. Fifteen minutes later, four of the pancakes are in my stomach. The last one sits on the plate with one bite from Damen.

I envy the pancake.

Damen laughs. "Don't be jealous of pancakes," he tells me. The whole family laughs at that, understanding exactly what he meant. I blush a deep red and push myself out of the chair.

I walk over to Alyssa with my back straight, trying to keep as much dignity as I have left.

"Where is your shower?" I ask her.

"Just go up to my room. There is a door right by the closet door. There will be a shower in there."

"Thanks." I nod my head and turn towards the stairs. As I walk up, I can still see out of the corner of my eye the rest of the family laughing.

I step into the warm water of the shower, trying to collect my thoughts. I can feel at least three people in my mind now. After you know someone is in your head, it's easy to see when they are.

I sigh. _"I want my own thoughts!"_ I yell in my head. I immediately feel two people recoil. One person is still in my head.

I shake my head. The last vampire is most likely Damen. There's only one way to get him out of my head, even though it would hurt him.

I take a deep breath before thinking _"I wish Damen would leave me alone! Maybe I won't choose option one. Option two sounds better at the moment."_

I feel him recoil instantly. I know already that seeing other vampires claim me will hurt him the most. Good. I need my own space.

When I step out of the bathroom, I expect to find Alyssa's room empty. Instead, I see Damen standing right in my way.

"Oh!" I gasp, clutching my towel. This was awkward.

"I need to talk to you," he tells me.

"Can it wait until I'm dressed?" I ask sarcastically.

"No."

"Well then hurry. I'm cold."

He rolls his eyes. "Do you really want me to leave you alone? Do you really want other vampires to eat you?" Sadness fills his eyes.

Uh-oh. I didn't know that would hurt him this much.

I decide to tell the truth. No use trying to keep secrets from vampires.

"Damen….I just need some time to think. I don't want to be eaten. I just want you out of my head so I can think in peace. Plus, aren't I like, a prisoner or something until Lucius leaves town and I make my decision?"

He stares at me. "When you make your decision, you are free."

"Well I haven't made a decision yet," I lie to him. I bite my lower lip, hoping not to get caught in the lie.

I bite my lip too hard.

It starts to bleed a little. I lick it quickly, knowing that if he smells my blood, I won't get an option.

Sadly, my attempts at covering up the scent don't work. He leans into me, kissing me ever so slightly where I bleed. He licks my lip, taking away the drop of blood.

I brace myself for death. Damen takes me into his arms, still kissing me. I don't even try to struggle. He is drinking my blood, but it doesn't hurt. I bring him closer to me. He drinks greedily now. I'm feeling light-headed. I swoon. I thought being bitten by a vampire would hurt. It is quite the opposite.

I would be moderately okay with death right now.

At the last second, when I think I'm about to pass out, he pulls away. His eyes are shocked. He looks at me, where I'm swaying on my feet. He is by me in a second, laying me down onto Alyssa's bed.


	9. Chapter 9

_ Chapter 9_

When I wake up, I see many people staring down at me. Their faces are clear and defined. I shake my head. What was up with my sight? I had never been able to see this clearly.

Aislinn is by my head, Alyssa right by her. Charlie is on the other side of the bed. Damen and Jack stand at the foot of the bed. Damen looks incredibly sad.

"Honey, are you all right?" Aislinn's voice finds me.

I shake my head, attempting to get the weird sight out of it. "I'm fine," I say slowly. I sit up and look down at what I'm wearing. I'm under Lys's covers, still wrapped up in a towel. Great.

"Uhm…..if you don't mind me asking, what happened?" I say wearily, sitting upright now on the bed.

Aislinn, Charlie, and Jack file out of the room silently, leaving me alone with Lys and Damen.

Lys hops onto the bed while Damen comes to take my hand. "I'm so sorry," he says to me somberly.

"For what?" I say. I'm totally confused.

"You don't remember?" He asks in disbelief.

I shake my head.

He squeezes my hand. "You bit your lip too hard while I was talking to you, and…well"

I don't follow him after that. The scene comes back into my mind.

I cut him off. "So, you drank my blood?" I sound panicky.

He sighs. "Yes."

My heart is beating wildly now. "So do I not have a decision anymore?"

"You still do. If you didn't, your heart wouldn't be beating."

I breathe out in relief. Good.

Lys ruins my relief. "However, the second option is out of the question now."

"Wait, why?"

Lys and Damen exchange a glance before Lys starts speaking again. "When a vampire drinks some of your blood but doesn't make the wound, the venom doesn't get in your system and change you. However, it either starts a bind or makes a bind stronger. Since the bind is there, no vampire will want to drink blood that belongs to someone else. It smells funny….It also affects your senses a little bit, so you have half human vision and half vampire vision. Vampires see better than humans."

Oh. "So that's why I could see so clearly when I woke up," I say.

Damen nods his head. "And….I can hear my heart beating, but no one else's," I say slowly. That was freaky.

"Our hearts don't beat," Damen tells me. I nod my head.

"I can hear that," I tell him. He smiles a little bit.

Something occurs to me. "Wait, so I'm bound to you...more?"

"Jessica, you were never bound to me strongly. You only felt a pull because I am bound to you. But now…you're bound to me."

Crap.

"Oh," I squeak out.

"I am so sorry," he says.

I am silent for a while before asking, "Damen? Can you get out? I need to change."

He smiles sadly and is out the door. Lys sits on the bed still.

"It's weird being bound to someone, isn't it?" Lys says.

I nod my head as she continues speaking. " I remember first being bound to Jack. It was the weirdest feeling in the world. It was like I couldn't be away from him for too long, because if I was, it hurt. When I told Aislinn and Charlie about it, they were shocked to see their daughter bound to someone. After a while, they got over the shock and encouraged me to ask him when he was of age. So, I did."

All I can say is, "So that's why I feel a pull?"

She smiles and nods her head. "Now go get dressed. We have some shopping to do, because" she drops her voice "when you are one of us, you actually shrink two sizes." She laughs. "I remember changing. None of my jeans fit, because they were too big. I was like, whoa!"

I laugh at that and go over to the closet to change.

I come out wearing faded blue jeans, a T-shirt, and a sweater. I walk over to the bedroom door to find Alyssa and Damen discussing on the other side. I hear them, even though they are talking quickly and in low voices.

"She isn't going to choose me," I hear Damen's pained voice.

"Just chill, will you? Give her some time. It's a hard decision." I hear Alyssa snap back at him.

"I should just give up," he says.

"No! I swear I will kill you if you give up on her." Alyssa sounds strict.

"You can't kill me, Lys. Only she can."

I hear a smack.

"I will find a way if you don't man up, Damen." Alyssa hisses at him.

Whoa. I take a step back. I can still hear them. I back up towards the closet door. I can still hear them.

I gasp. How is that possible?

Alyssa and Damen must have heard my gasp, because they come crashing in the room. I'm standing by the closet door.

"How can I….how can I hear you?" I struggle with words.

Alyssa smiles. "The vampire hearing is kicking in. It's freaky at first, right?"

I nod my head as I take a seat on the couch. Alyssa starts talking to Damen, but my mind is on something else.

There is a pull in my mind, dragging me towards Damen. It's as if I don't go over to him, I will die. I stand up, my feet dragging me towards him. I reach out for his hands. He gives them to me willingly, apparently feeling the same thing I do.

"I'll be leaving now," Alyssa says with a smile in her voice. When the door closes behind her, I spin myself into his arms. He pulls me tight against him, kissing the line of my jaw.

He turns me around to face him quickly and kisses me. He is fierce, but I don't care. All I can think about is him. My fingers knot up in his hair, pulling him closer to me.

Some conscious part of me knew what I was doing, but it was overruled.

He wraps his arms around my waist, clearly into what I was feeling. The kiss intensifies as he swings me up in his arms and lays me down on the couch.

He breaks the kiss to start trailing the line of my jaw with kisses.

Realization hits me. He is handsome, and into me, and right now, I would totally be willing to spend eternity with him. I'm breathing in heavy gasps, as he is moaning with pleasure. He kneels down by me, trailing kisses down my jaw and to my neck. I feel his fangs graze over my skin, and I shiver with delight.

I pull his lips away from my neck, so that he can kiss my lips. It's like I can't get close enough to him. I know his fangs are out, but some part of me enjoys knowing that he can't resist me. When I let him go, he returns back to my neck. I feel him teasing with my skin. I pull his mouth closer to my neck.

I _want _him to bite me. He moves closer to my throat, nipping at the flesh. I feel my skin tear the smallest bit. He moans as I push his fangs deeper in my neck.

At the last second, when I'm sure he will bite through to drink my blood, he pulls away from me abruptly. I'm panting heavily. Wow.

I still see the lust in his eyes, but he looks strained.

"What's wrong?" I gasp out.

He comes to sit by me. "I am sorry that got out of hand," he tells me.

"Why didn't you bite me?" I ask him, sadness filling my voice. At that, he smiles.

"Because that would have taken away your choice," he tells me.

"Damen, I don't care! I've already chose!" I wail.

He looks sad now. "No, Jessica. This isn't you speaking. It's the bind. Sometimes, it will kick in really strong for the both of us. We just have to endure it until it passes."

I still feel sad, so apparently it hasn't passed for me.

"But I thought you wanted me to say yes to you!" I try one more time.

He cups my face in his hands. "I do, Jessica. But I want you to actually love me, and not just because of the bind."

I pout. "Fine."

A thought snaps me out of the trance. "Wait. Were the others listening in?"

Damen stares at me. "Yes, they were."

I blush a deep red. "Crap."

He comes over to me swiftly. "What?"

"That's embarrassing," I say.

He frowns. "Is it so embarrassing to be with me, Jessica?"

Wait, what? "No, No! Damen, that's not what I meant at all. What I meant was that it was more of a…." this is embarrassing to say "a private moment."

He smiles slightly. "Oh," is all he says. "Well, I'm going to go find Lys. She still wants to go shopping with you," he tells me. He pecks me swiftly on the cheek before disappearing.

Alyssa is back up in a second, a wide smile plastered on her face. I know what she's thinking.

"That's not fair!" I protest. "It's the bind!"

Alyssa rolls her eyes. "Yes, and I'm a blind lady with six dogs."

"Don't bag on blind people!"

"I'm just using a comparison, Jess!"

I groan. "Ugh! You are impossible Lys!"

She laughs. "I am because I'm a fictional monster of small children's dreams?"

I roll my eyes.

"Anyways, we need to go shopping. You are going to be 2 sizes to small at the least in a few weeks, so let's go!" Lys is bouncing out of her shoes.

I hate it when she says that I will become one of them. I mean, I know I will, but still.

"Lys! Keep your voice down! Remember that I swore you to secrecy about my decision!"

"Oh chill, Jess. We all know your decision already. We are just waiting for you to say it out loud."

I gape at her. "I haven't even been here 24 hours! Am I really that obvious?" I'm more than a little angry now.

"No. They don't know your official decision. But it's obvious on how you push Damen away. That's how it always starts out. They are pretty sure you will choose option one, and I'm positive you will!" Alyssa says matter-of-factly.

"Ugh!" I throw my head into my hands.

Alyssa pulls me up. "Come on! We don't have much time before lunch, and that's when it gets really crowded." I barely have time to grab my purse and grab my shoes before Lys is dragging me down the stairs. The whole family is waiting at the bottom of the stairs, and I manage to gasp out a "Goodbye" before I'm pulled out towards the Red Ferrari I had ridden in just the other day.

"You're going to be an expert on shopping after today," Lys smiles at me as she pulls out of the driveway.

Lys pulls the Red Ferrari into a parking lot. I look up at the mall. It's fancy.

"What mall is this?" I ask her.

She smiles. "I don't know the name, but it is my favorite mall."

I moan. Shopping was fine, but I don't have this kind of money.

"Uhm…Lys," I tell her. "I'm sorry you drove all the way out here, but I don't have this kind of money.

She laughs. "Don't worry! You're using our money, since you are going to be part of the family."

This made me more uncomfortable. Using the Shae's money was rude.

"Lys, I'm not using your money," I say.

"Oh yes you are! Aislinn and Charlie got a new credit card for you the day Damen came home and told us that he was bound to you."

I blush at this. Oh wow.

"I still don't feel comfortable using your money," I say.

"Just use it! It's your money too now, so deal. Aislinn will be sad if you don't use it."

So Lys is trying to guilt me now? Great.

"Don't make me feel bad about using _your_ money," I tell her. She laughs and walks at a human pace to my car door.

She opens up the door and smiles at me menacingly. "You _will_ use the money, Jess, whether you like it or not."

I sigh. Lys decides to go all vampire on me because I refuse to use her money.

"Fine," I growl. "But you so owe me."

Lys squeals, immediately jumping out of vampire mode. "Yep! I knew it!"

I slam the car door hard, and start walking towards the entrance to the mall.

"Lys?" I ask her.

"Hm?" She replies, busy skipping on the tar.

"Why me?" I ask her. It's vague, but I'm sure she knows what I mean. Why is this happening to me?

Lys stops skipping to fall into step beside me. "I don't know _why_ it's you, Jesse. All I know is that I'm glad you came. For one thing, Damen seems a lot happier. Second, we were starting to think he wasn't compatible with anyone." I raise an eyebrow at her.

"Hey! You lose faith after 400 years!" Lys throws her hands up in the air as she speaks.

I roll my eyes.

Alyssa bounds up to the entrance, holding the door open for me.

"So, where are we shopping?" I ask her as I stride into the mall.

"Oh, you'll see," she smiles darkly.

Two hours later, I emerge from the mall with seven shopping bags weighing my arms down. Only one bag was simple clothing. Great.

All I knew was that I would have preferred to go to Wet Seal or Hot Topic. Instead, Lys had dragged me around the mall to only the fanciest, most expensive shops in all of history.

"Ohh! You are going to look so pretty in that Silver dress!" Lys squealed. She had insisted I buy a slant-cut sparkly silver dress that had noodle straps. I guess it looked fine. Just not on me.

"I guess so," I say. "But I won't be able to wear it for a while. It's way too small for me around the stomach."

"Right now," Lys says. I sigh.

I manage to open the car door without dropping any of the bags. Lys gushes over all the clothes I had gotten the whole ride home. I still couldn't believe I had spent over 5,000 dollars on clothes.

When we get back to the house, Lys bounds up the stairs as I struggle with all the clothing in my arms. By the time I reach the third step, Lys is already in the house. It takes me around five minutes to make it to the top of the winding stairs, and I'm breathless. The door is wide open (thankfully) and I push my way through into the foyer. When I look up, I say to Lys, "Thanks for helping me carry these bags."

I assume I will get a smart-mouth comment back, but instead, I look up to see five vampires, frozen in place.

I drop the bags and run to Damen. "What happened?" I ask frantically.

Charlie answers my question. "Lucius was here."


	10. Chapter 10

_I just wanted to thank all of my fans for staying to listen to my story. I'm not that great at writing, but I haven't gotten one bad review! Thanks you guys! I love reviews, they help me a lot. Thanks for all your support, and here's the next chapter! _

_Chapter 10_

My head spins for a moment, and I think I'm going to crash to the marble floor. Instead I feel cool arms wrapping around me, urging me to open my eyes. It feels like they're glued shut, but I slowly force them open.

I gasp. Damen is staring straight at me, his face mere inches away. The sight of him makes my heart start accelerating, and I hear muffled laughs behind me. I think they come from Charlie and Alyssa.

I sigh. Why did the sight of him do that to me? Oh yes, he was breath-taking and I was bound to him. Right.

Again, I forget too late that everyone in the room is listening to my thoughts.

Everyone in the room bursts into laughter except for Damen. He just smiles widely at me and leans down to kiss me lightly. I gasp again and wiggle out of his arms, only to find myself in a heap on the floor.

This starts the laughing all over again. Damen extends his arm out to me, chuckles vibrating through him. I push it away and scramble to stand up.

When the laughing has died down, I go to pick up my shopping bags which were still sitting on the floor.

"So, why did Lucius come here?" I ask quietly. The name sends shivers down my spine.

Damen answers me, venom hanging thick in his voice. "To meet you."

"Why would he want to meet me?"

"Jesse, you should come sit down. This is a long story." Alyssa says to me quietly.

"Okay." We all move to go into the family room, where I had been sitting just a day before listening that my destiny is to become a vampire. Too many weird things happen in this house.

I take a seat on the couch again, but Damen sits closer to me. His arm wraps around my shoulder. I can't help but shiver.

Why me? I ask myself again silently.

"So, who's going to tell me why your brother is so horrible?" I say in a sarcastic tone, trying to lighten the mood. Jack frowns at me.

"I will," says Aislinn quietly.

Damen pulls me closer to him, and I unintentionally lean my head against his shoulder.

"Lucius was….is" Aislinn stumbles. I didn't think a vampire could stumble. "my oldest child. He was always ambitious about his goals. He wouldn't stop at anything to get what he wanted." Aislinn swallows, and I see tears welling up in her eyes. "But he didn't always have…the right goal in mind. He was the first to choose immortality with Charlie and myself. We were glad we would always have one of our children with us. What we didn't know back then was that Lucius wanted to try to destroy humans, then rule the vampires. It would be like he had the world to himself."

I hide a giggle with a laugh. Isn't evil always caused by power?

Aislinn continues. "Alyssa, my last child and my only daughter," Aislinn pauses to smile at Lys. "Was the second to choose immortality and the first to discover we could read minds. She found out when Lucius was planning his first attack in 1693. She rushed and told us what she had heard, and we stopped him. Barely." There are tears sliding down Aislinn's sharp cheek bones. "He wasn't positive on how we had stopped him, but he discovered the mind reading ability when Alyssa met Jack in 1712, Lucius felt how strong the bond was and he discovered the power."

Alyssa sighs at this. "That was my fault that he found out," she says quietly. Jack pulls Lys closer to him. She smiles feebly.

Aislinn returns to her story. "Since Lucius now had access to our minds, it was harder for us to stop him. He almost got away with his plan in 1854."

Charlie wipes away Aislinn's tears as they trail down her cheeks. "Anyways," she says, "Lucius didn't try his plan again until 1975. This was the first time he managed to kill over 100 humans."

I look up to Damen. Apparently, he knows what's coming, so he has averted his gaze from mine. I look back to Aislinn.

"Lucius knew that Damen hadn't found a tie to anyone yet. He used that to distract the family, telling us that Damen would be alone forever. We were so concerned about Damen for a while that Lucius went unnoticed. Well, until we saw some unusual deaths in the newspaper."

So that's why Damen wouldn't look at me.

"I'm sorry I'm rushing, dear," Aislinn says to me.

"It's okay," I tell her with sympathy hanging in my voice. "But, I don't understand what Lucius wants with me now."

Alyssa picks up where Aislinn left off. "He wants a bind to someone, but he can't find anyone. So, his theory is that since Damen and him have the same blood, or, did have the same blood running in them, Lucius can create a bind with you. Of course, since you have been bound to Damen now, you can't. But, if he manages to get you away from us and bite you, you will die."

Whoa. "Wait, why would I die?"

"Because you can't have two different vampire venoms in you at the same time. Do you remember us telling you that no two vampire venoms are the same?"

I nod. I remember from when we were talking about the bind.

Alyssa continues. "Well, since no two are the same, the venoms will clash and burn out each other, and since you have weak organs, the two venoms will burn out those, killing you instead of changing you. And, since you already have a little bit of Damen's venom in you," I shiver at this. Bleh. "You'll die if Lucius bites you."

I roll my eyes. "Great. So, basically my decision date is cut back."

Alyssa giggles. "Yes." She stares at me pointedly, saying that she already knows my decision. I sigh.

"So, am I just under closer watch right now then?" I ask. Charlie steps in to answer my question.

"Yes. But, right now, I think Damen just wants to spend some time with you."

The subject changed quickly. "Oh," I say, surprised, as I turn to look towards Damen. He still looks incredibly angry, but when he sees me staring at him, his gaze turns soft.

"So, what do you want to do?" I ask him awkwardly. He flashes me a smile.

"You'll see," He says before picking me up in his arms and running at lightning speed away from the room and into the basement.

"A movie?" I ask cautiously.

He smiles. "Is that okay?"

"Yes, it's…normal. I didn't know vampires liked movies."

He laughs at that. "Just because we drink blood doesn't mean we don't like movies."

"Right," I say, a little embarrassed. He sets me down on a soft couch and goes to turn on a movie.

Something occurs to me then. Something that should've occurred to me yesterday when I found out who they were.

"Uhm…..what kind of….what kind of blood do you drink?" I ask him quietly. He freezes.

He answers me slowly. "We try to drink animal blood, but we cheat a lot." I gasp.

He raises his hands up slowly. "We don't kill people, Jesse. We get donated blood…usually. Only when it's an emergency do we drink fresh human blood. And we don't kill them. We take just enough to leave them slightly light-headed."

I breathe slowly. "So…how much do you cheat?"

He smiles a little. "We only drink animal blood at desperate time, like when we have run out of donated blood."

"So….how do you not kill the human? Like, if Lys bites someone, and then you bite that same person, wouldn't they die?"

He nods his head. "Yes, but since we have a good sense of smell, we kind of claim people to drink from."

I stare at him. "We only leave our scent there so other vampires won't drink from them. And we wait the valid 55 days before drinking from the same person."

I'm about to barf. Why couldn't he be a vegetarian like the Cullen family from Twilight?

He laughs at my thoughts. "Because, Jess, no vampire can live just on animal blood. Even if we have the self-restraint to hold back, you would starve."

I speak quietly. "Why don't you just always use the donated blood then?"

His smile vanishes. "We try to. It's just, sometimes, they will run out of donation blood to give us, and we'll go crazy if we don't drink, so we have to bite humans sometimes."

"How do they not turn into vampires?"

"We can hold enough venom back so they don't change."

"Don't they remember being bitten though?"

Damen shakes his head. "No. When we hold enough venom back, they completely forget what happened."

"So, if you bit me, how much blood of mine you take?"

He stiffens. "75% of it, Jess. You need the extra 25% to carry the venom through your body."

"Oh." I say to him weakly. My head is spinning. I don't really want to bite people for eternity. Damen turns back to put the movie in the flat-screen T.V.

In a second he is back over by me, sitting down on the couch. He flips the volume to low, and lays down on the couch. I still have enough room to cuddle in my corner, but I unintentionally feel myself laying on his chest. I snuggle in closer to him as he wraps an arm around me. I find myself feeling....something more than just a crush. It feels right being close to him.

"Do you see, Jessica?" He murmurs into my ear softly. "Is it so bad to be with me?"

I shake my head, snuggling closer to him. "No," I reply strongly. "It's not."

He turns my head so he can kiss me gently. I sigh. He was perfect.

"Damen," I say against his lips. "Do you really want me? Or do you just want my blood?"

He pulls me closer to him, wrapping his arms around my waist. "If I only wanted your blood, you would be dead right now."

I guess that should have scared me to death, but instead, I swiveled closer to him. He sighed.

"Does it repulse you to be so close to a vampire?" He murmurs in my ear.

I decide to answer him honestly. "No. It feels….right. Like I'm supposed to be here. With you."

At that, he smiles and kisses me once more. "And the bond isn't even acting up right now," he says.

I laugh and lay my head against his chest, curling up into him to watch the movie.


	11. Chapter 11

_Here is chapter 11! I was really pleased with how it turned out, but let's see what you think! I hope you guys still like my boring old story! Anyways, thanks again for all of the reviews! They help me sooooo much! Seriously!_

_Luv ya'll! ***Ace*** bottoms up!_

_Chapter 11_

I laid down by Damen for the whole movie. Occasionally, he would turn and kiss me lightly. Other times, he would grab me carefully in a passionate kiss that made me swoon.

Great, I'm turning into Cinderella now, I think glumly to myself.

Damen laughs. "Cinderella wasn't forced on the choice of life with a vampire or death."

I laugh too. "I guess not." At that, he kisses me for a long time. I pull him closer to me, but he moves away quickly. I stare at him.

"I don't want to….bite you again." He tells me.

I laugh. "Am I really that mouth-watering?" I ask him sarcastically.

"Yes," he answers, his tone completely serious. He draws closer to me to trail kisses down my neck. I moan.

I guess I didn't really pay attention to the movie, so when he asks me "So how did you like the movie?" I am lost for words.

"Uhm…..I thought it was good." I was only focusing on him dang it.

He laughs, reading my mind. "It's okay, Jess."

I beam. "So, you don't feel uncomfortable using my nick-name?"

"Well, if that's what you like, then of course not." He replies. I kiss him swiftly before we get off the couch and walk up the stairs, hand in hand. Alyssa is waiting on the top stair, a smug smile glued on her face. I can't help but smile back at her.

"Dinner is ready," she announces. My stomach grumbles in response as Alyssa and Damn laugh.

"I guess that means it's time for me to eat," I say. Alyssa runs quickly back to the kitchen.

"I'll never get used to that," I mumble. Damen's smile grows wider.

"What?" I ask him.

"Well," he tells me "You don't _need_ to get used to it if you're not staying. But if you are, then you'll most definitely need to get used to moving quickly."

I blush. "Oh."

He laughs and pulls me towards the kitchen. Tonight, everyone is smiling as Damen and I walk in.

Crap, they were listening in.

"It's ceaser salad tonight, Jessica," Aislinn informs me. I smile. I love ceaser salad.

I take a seat and immediately dig in to the salad that is sitting in the bowl. Damen watches me eat like a hungry pig while he eats only a few bites.

I sense tension in the room. I guess I know what it's from, so I clear my throat and say "You guys can eat if you want."

"We don't eat that, Jessica," Jack tells me.

"I know," I tell him, trying to keep the quiver out of my voice. "I mean, it looks like you guys are hungry, or thirsty or whatever, so you can eat your normal meal."

Everyone in the room freezes. I suppose they are shocked.

"I'm not sure that would be best…" Jack starts off, but Alyssa cuts him off.

"No, she can take it, Jack. Her voice didn't waver. Plus, I'm starving. I haven't eaten in a week." She smiles at me and walks over to the fridge. When she opens the door, I almost barf. All of the drawers and shelves are piled with baggies of blood. I manage to just keep eating my salad.

Out of the corner of my eye I see Lys snatch a glass cup and rip open the baggie, letting the rich blood pour into the cup. She tips the baggie up to her lips so as to get the last drops.

Damen takes my hand and squeezes it. He goes into my head.

"_Is this bothering you?" _ I hear his smooth, silky voice in my head.

"No," I think back to him. He searches my head to see if I'm lying, and when he is satisfied I'm not, he asks me a surprising question.

"_Would it be okay if I had something to eat then? You….make me thirsty, and I don't want to slip and take away the choice from you."_

"Go ahead," I think back to him evenly. He smiles, stands up and pecks me on the cheek before going to grab a blood baggie. I watch him tear it open with his razor sharp teeth. It was…..beautiful in a way.

His teeth just glided across the plastic in one swift move. Mine would be stuck tearing at the plastic for minutes.

Not that I would be biting into a blood baggie.

Charlie interrupts my thoughts. "Jessica? Dear, would it be okay if myself, Aislinn and Jack ate too? You make us edgy."

"Go ahead," I say. Aislinn hugs me before running to the fridge.

Alyssa is the first back to sit by me, her drink in hand. She chatters to me about how good the clothes we got today would look on me, but all I can focus on is the glass.

The blood swirled around the glass cup, trying to peak over the top, but missing. It smelled weird in the room now, but there was one smell that was enticing.

I stop Lys in her rant and ask "What's that smell?"

Lys laughs. "That's the blood, silly."

I shake my head. "No, that smells disgusting." She shoots me a hurt look. "Sorry," I tell her. "No, it's something else."

Aislinn reads my mind for the smell before muttering "Oh."

I turn to her. "What is it?"

Aislinn shoots Charlie a look. He shoots her a look back that says 'no way am I explaining this.' She sighs before turning back to me.

"We always…saved some of Damen's blood for when he got bound to someone. Just for your first drink. We thought you might like it. Your tie's blood is the strongest smell you'll ever smell."

Oh. Oh! Crap. "So….where is it? The blood, I mean," I ask quietly.

Damen smiles.

Shoot me. Right now.

"It's in the back of the fridge," Aislinn tells me wearily. "But you can only have it when you're a vampire. It will wack up your immune system if you have it right now."

Crap. Well there goes my theory of not biting into a blood-baggie.

"Oh." I say, my face turning red. Damen laughs. "Does it….does the craving ever end? For your ties blood, I mean."

Damen looks me straight in the eye as he says "When there is no blood left."

Well that was beating around the bush. Basically, I'm in danger from you until I drain myself of blood and become immortal. Great.

I look down to see Damen's drink gone. I realize that my salad is gone too, so I excuse myself from the table. Damen gets up too and takes my hand, leading me towards the upstairs.

"Were are we going?" I ask him.

"To my room. I was wondering if you wanted to spend the night there. With me." He asks me.

I blush a deep red. "Damen, I'm flattered, but I'm not ready for that."

"No, not that way. Just sleep."

I contemplate this. "As in, snoring sleeping? Like, totally unconscious?"

He smiles. "Yes. I won't even touch you."

"Okay." He leads me down the hallway and stops at his door. I remember just last night I had been disgusted on how I had wanted him to bite me.

Now, I didn't mind.

He opens the door and leads me into the room. I take a seat on the bed, crossing my legs. He takes a seat across from me on the other side of the bed, as far away as possible. I scoot closer to him and turn around so that I can be tucked under his shoulder. He smiles and kisses me.

"So…what did you want to talk about?" I ask him.

He smiles wider. "I will talk after you get all your questions answered."

"Okay," I say slowly. "There is one question I have."

"Yes?" He says in between kisses.

I push him away for a minute. "What did Lys mean by auras? I still don't understand the eye thing."

He smiles. "Well, you're born with an aura, even as a human. Everyone's start out white, but as your personality forms, it changes color. When you become a vampire, the aura shows through to your eyes. To the human eyes, an aura is invisible. To vampire eyes, you can read anyone's aura. But, after you're changed into one of us, a human can see our aura by looking at our eyes."

"Oh. So, what's my aura?" I ask him, wondering what color my eyes will be.

He laughs. "You have the weirdest aura I have ever seen. Yours fades from purple to blue to a striking green, and when it mixes together," He pauses to stroke my cheek with his thumb. "It creates this beautiful violet color with safari green stripes."

"Oh," is all I can say. I'm delighted. Those were some of my favorite colors.

He laughs and kisses me. "Does that answer your question?"

"Yes," I tell him.

He kisses me again and I roll onto him. He whispers in my ear, "I'm glad I don't repulse you."

I laugh breathlessly as he trails down my jaw. "I'm glad too."

He pulls my lips to his once more before asking me, "Is that all of your questions?"

I pull him to me once more and mumble "Yes" against his lips. He chuckles.

"Then I need to speak now," he tells me.

"Fine," I mumble.

He rolls me back over so that I'm lying on the bed. I get myself comfortable under the covers while he stays above them.

"Jessica," He says, "I want to talk to you about your options."

Crap.

"Which one are you veering towards, honestly?" He asks me. I think about lying, but he says "I'll just dig through your mind."

I roll my eyes. I am so not telling him yet that I've chosen option one.

"Jessica?" He asks me.

I groan. "Fine." I see anxiousness in his eyes, so I decide to tell half the truth. "I haven't decided yet, but I guess I'm leaning towards one."

"Jessica," He tells me. "I don't know which one is which." Of course he does, that liar. "You will have to say the conditions of the one you are leaning towards.

"Liar," I mutter under my breath before saying "I'm leaning towards becoming a vampire."

"And?" He pushes me further with a smug smile on his face.

I beat around the bush. "And drinking blood."

"And?"

"And being immortal."

"And?" His smile grows wider every time I give the wrong answer.

"And leaving everyone I know and love in this life."

"And?"

"And getting cool eyes?"

"And?"

Crap. That was my last one.

"And being with you forever," I mumble quietly.

"Excuse me?" He asks. "I didn't catch that."

Of course he did! He was an f'ing vampire with super-sonic senses or whatever!

"And being with you forever," I mumble again.

"Love, I'm going to need you to speak up." I jump a little. Did he just call me love? What the crap?

"And being with you forever." I mumble again, my voice only a little louder.

"Love, you need to speak up. I can't hear your voice." Grhh.

"For crap's sake, stop calling me love!" I yell at him.

"Stop beating around the bush, love," he tells me, his voice taking on a seductive tone. I fight back.

"Urgh!"

"Love, I don't think that was an option of the three."

I swear, I'm going to kick him so hard in the…….

"What's your answer, love?"

"And being with you forever!" I yell at him.

He chuckles. "Ah. That option."

I groan and turn my head. A tear slides down my cheek. I really liked Damen, but why was he so damn difficult?

He sighs and leans over towards me. He whispers in my ear.

"I'm sorry, love. I just needed to know."

I spin around quickly, trying to catch him off-guard. Of course I don't.

"Why are you calling me love?" I whisper. "How do you even know that….that I'm the right person? What if you bit the wrong girl?"

Oh, let's hope not. I'm falling too hard for him.

His eyes turn to hurt quickly. He lays his head down beside mine, his cold breath sweeping over my face.

He strokes the tears away.

"Jessica," He groans. "I never meant to hurt you. I just needed to know what you were deciding."

"How do you know I'm the right girl?" I ask again.

He sighs, a small smile playing over his lips. "Because I've never wanted anyone but you." He strokes my lips with his thumb. "You are all that I've ever hoped for in my tie. You are strong and intelligent, and you have a temper. You're the first person that I can actually lose a fight with." He chuckles. "And I love how you try to make yourself hate me, but you just can't do it."

He sighs and brushes a strand of hair out of my tear-streaked face. "And Jessica," he smiles sadly and kisses me lightly. "You're the most beautiful girl I've ever seen. Even of the vampire women. They don't compare to you at all." He cradles my face in his hands. "Jessica, when I first met you, all I thought we could have was the tie. That was fine with me then. But I see now that I love you, Jessica, and I don't understand how I lived without you for all those years."

My heart skips a beat. Maybe two.

Had he just said he loved me?

"I did, Jessica, and I don't want to take it back. It's true. I don't want to ever live without you again, and I won't." He kisses me again.

"And as for the love, you are the love of my life…or existence. Is it so bad to tell you that?"

Tears of joy were falling down my face. He actually loved me? Do I really have the chance to spend eternity with the perfect guy?

Okay, not perfect. But perfect for me.

He sees the tears falling down my face. "What's wrong, love?"

I smile. "Nothing. Nothing at all." He smiles with me and pulls me closer to him. He kisses down my jaw to my neck, then back up to meet my lips. I kiss him with as much force as I can. He wraps his arms around my waist. I lean closer towards him. I feel his fangs slide out against my tongue, leaving a trail of blood. He instantly pulls back, across the room in seconds.

I taste my tongue. It tastes like blood. I slowly get up.

"It's okay if you have some," I say to him softly.

He shakes his head. "Please," I tell him. "I want you to. Do you not want my blood?"

I play the devil's card, but it works. He moans and gives in, knocking me to the bed and wiping the blood off my tongue.

I push him further to give him more blood. He drinks greedily as I close my eyes in pleasure. Even when he is drinking my blood, which by the way is disgusting, he is handsome. I want him to sink his fangs into my skin, I want to be with him forever.

But he stops quickly. I feel the blood flow stop on my tongue as he draws back. Anguish fills his eyes.

"Jessica, I am so sorry."

"Don't be," I murmur softly. "That one was my fault. And really, I don't mind. It gets me closer to you."

He wraps his arms around my waist. "I feel terrible, love."

I smile at my new nick-name. "Don't." I murmur softly against his neck. I let go of him to re-tuck myself into the covers. He smiles at me.

My eyes droop, but there is one more thing I need to say. "Damen?" I murmur groggily.

"Yes, love?" I hear a smile in his voice.

I yawn. "I think I've made my decision."


	12. Chapter 12

_Okay you guys. I have a few things to say before you read this looonnggg chapter. ***longest chapter yet!*** Anyways, first I want to thank you for reading! I can' t believe how many people actually like this! I thought it was a train-wreck! Thank you so much! SECOND: I know that Damen has bit her a lot, yes, it got on my nerves a bit too. But no worries…he will mellow out soon enough.. (maybe xD) THIRD: I was going to write a sequel to this, but if you guys are just getting completely bored with this, tell me. Please review or e-mail me telling me on what you want me to do. I can wrap up the story in this book OR make another book or two. PLEASE e-mail me and give me your opinion._

_Merci Beacoup! ***Ace***_

_Chapter 12_

I wake up to light washing over my face. I yawn and open my eyes slowly. Damen is opening the curtains to my right. I smile at his back. He was perfect. I made my decision. I smile wider.

Last night he told me he loved me. Whoa!

Damen feels my eyes on his back and turns around, flashing me a gleaming smile. He walks over to me and sits on the edge of the bed.

"How did you sleep?" He asks me.

"Fine," I tell him. He smiles.

"Uh…Damen?"

"Yes, love?"

"We didn't….uh…" how do I ask this? "We didn't do more than actually…sleep, right?"

He laughs. "Of course not."

I breathe out in relief. I want to spend eternity with Damen, but I'm not ready for that.

"So, what are we doing today?" I ask him.

"Well…" He kisses me lightly. "Considering it's your birthday, I was thinking maybe we could go dancing."

I freeze as he kisses me. It was my birthday? The 31st of October? I was seventeen? Whoa. Okay then. Wait, that meant it was Halloween too!

He chuckles. "You forgot your birthday? Love, I don't want to brain wash you."

I giggle against his lips. "So, where would we go dancing? A club?"

"No, we would go somewhere with class, love. You know, ballroom dancing?"

I thanked my mother silently for the dancing class when I was thirteen.

"Okay."

"Oh, and the rest of the family will come to. Is that alright?"

"Yep."

Damen pulls me closer to him. I kiss him slowly, but he pulls away to whisper in my ear. "Have you really chosen, love?"

I guess he's talking about my choice on whether to become a vampire or not.

"Mmmhhmmm," I mumble into the crease of his neck.

"You're sure you want to spend eternity with a vampire?" He asks again, trailing kisses down my neck.

"I'm positive," I whisper.

He comes towards my mouth. "I love you," he mouths before kissing me.

I stop him. "Damen," I tell him wearily. "I still want to know more about you."

He freezes. "What do you want to know?"

"I want to know about your past."

He stares at me. "Will you change your decision if I don't tell you?"

"No," I say slowly. "But I want to actually know you."

He gets up from the bed, but I grab onto his wrist. I know he can pull away easily, but he freezes.

"Damen," I say soothingly. "I want to know you. I really like you, and I've made my decision, but I want to know about you. I still don't know your past. Every times something new comes up, someone else has to explain it to me."

He pauses, then comes back to the bed. He kisses my cheek.

"Jessica," He murmurs. "My past isn't something you would want to visit. Why worry about that when we can worry about the future?"

His voice takes on a husky tone. Crap. I guess he's playing the 'get out of jail free' card by trying to make me forget.

I'm not going to let him. I play along.

"Why worry about telling me something like this when we have all of eternity together?" I murmur against his lips.

He sighs. "Love, you don't want to know."

"I do," I say.

"Why must you know?" He says, anger creeping into his voice.

I'm a little scared, but I decide to go on. "To know you, I want to know your past too."

"Jessica!" He shouts. "You don't need to know!"

A tear slides down my cheek. He managed to actually scare me.

"I guess I'll be going then," I mumble and shuffle towards the door. I reach for the doorknob, but a hand grabs my wrist. "Let me go!" I yell.

"Jessica," he says softly. "I didn't mean to scare you. It's just, you may not be happy with my past."

I turn back to him, tears sliding down my face. "I need to know, Damen."

He sighs and pulls me towards him. He looks me straight in the eyes. "I'm sorry I scared you, love. Will you forgive me?"

I nod my head. He pulls me closer, and I cry into the sweater he has on. "It's okay, love. I'm sorry. You're fine." He tries to soothe me in a calming voice.

I sniffle. "Please don't go all vampire on me," I mumble into his sweater.

He chuckles. "Okay, love. I'm so sorry."

When I'm sure my crying episode is done, I look him in the eyes. His dark, emerald eyes stare back at me, full of sympathy.

"Will you tell me now?" I ask him.

He sighs and picks me up. I squirm a little, but I see there is no point in trying to get away. He walks over to the bed and softly lays me down. When he is settled beside me, he begins.

"Lucius was…is my older brother. I was in the middle, and Alyssa was the youngest. Alyssa always looked up to Lucius, but all I saw from him was hatred. He tortured me as a child. He would make fun of me during my home-schooling. Every time I would mis-pronounce a word, he would chant the incorrect way I said it for days on end. At night, he would push me off my bed, and I would go crashing to the floor."

Hatred wells up in the pit of my stomach. I swear, when I was a vampire, I was going to kill Damen's brother.

Damen chuckles at my thoughts. "Anyways, when the day came that Aislinn came home and bit Charlie, Lucius decided to be immortal almost immediately. Alyssa chose a day after him. This made me anxious in some ways. I loved my little sister. I wanted to spend forever with my family. Just not Lucius.

"I decided to become immortal to protect my family. I didn't want Lucius hurting them later when I was out of the picture. What I didn't know was, Lucius wanted me to become immortal so that he could steal my bind."

I'm confused for a second. "That's you," He says.

Oh. Okay. I nod my head for him to continue.

"Lucius knew that my bind would be strong. He has a gift for seeing a bind's personality. All he would have to do is wait. If he could have a strong partner in helping him rule, he could get to the top, then finish off his partner."

I comprehend this slowly. "So….I'm the partner?"

Damen nods his head. "Yes, love. But I will not let him take you." He kisses me on the cheek. "Basically, Lucius is trying to hurt me through you. And I won't let that happen for your sake."

I curl into him. "Thank you for telling me," I whisper.

He kisses the top of my head. "Of course."

"Damen?" I ask him wearily.

"Yes?"

"When will I be changed?"

He kisses my cheek. "Soon," he murmurs.

"How long is soon?" I ask him.

"Two or three weeks, probably."

I shiver. "Is that okay with you?" He asks me.

I nod my head. I wanted it sooner, but two or three weeks of being vulnerable would be okay.

"Will you change me?"

"But of course, love." He tells me.

I sigh. He was so perfect. I realize there I something I need to tell him.

"Damen?"

"Yes, love?"

I take a deep breath. "I love you," I say. He spins me around to kiss me.

"I love you too," he says. I smile as he leans in to kiss me again.

Damen and I walk hand in hand to the dining room. Scrambled eggs are on the table.

Alyssa is beaming at me. Jack has a confused look on his face while he watches Lys jump up and down. I smile at her. Apparently, she figured out a way to keep the rest of the family clueless about my decision. I look up to Damen. He is smiling, bursting with joy. I can't stop a giggle from escaping my lips.

Aislinn and Charlie are smiling, but you can obviously see they have no clue what's going on. Damen and I decided earlier we were going to tell the rest of his…well…our family about my decision at breakfast.

I feel butterflies in my stomach. This was it.

Damen squeezes my hand before he begins. "Jack, Aislinn, Charlie," He nods to Alyssa who is bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet.

"Jesse has made her decision."

The room goes silent. Jack's gaze hardens. Charlie and Aislinn look anxious. Oh boy. What would have happened had I said no? Jack would have been murderous.

I look up at Damen. He is staring down at me, but there is no smile on his face. We had agreed to try to keep it a secret until I told them. I see his eyes filled with joy, but his mouth is turned into a small frown.

I take a deep breath before saying, "I've decided to join your family."

Alyssa squeals. "I knew it! I knew it from the first time I saw you! I knew it!" She bounds up and hugs me. I laugh and hug her back.

Aislinn comes to hug me. "Thank you," she whispers. I smile.

Charlie grabs me into a bear hug and swings me off the ground. "Welcome to the family, Jess," He says.

I choke off a laugh. When he sets me down, Jack comes up, smiling. "Good to have a new member," He tells me. I smile at him.

Alyssa comes up again. "Okay, Jess. So, since you're going to be one of us, you're going to need a car, a new credit card, some jewelry, and we're going to need to stock up the fridge more frequently."

I blush at this. I had totally forgotten about the blood. But, I guess it was worth it to be with Damen.

"Oh, but Jess?" Aislinn interrupts. "We still want you to try to go to school for the last year with Damen."

"Okay," I tell her, my smile growing. At least something would stay normal.

"Oh. Jessica did make one request though."

Oh yes. I remember my request.

"Well, since I'm going to be spending a lot of time with you guys," they laugh at my joke. "My mom will get suspicious. So……I was…..erhm…."

This is awkward to say. Luckily, Damen catches my stumble.

"She wants to hold a wedding ceremony to make it official." He tells his family.

Aislinn beams at me. "Good! I was hoping you would want to." She rushes over to me and hugs me.

"Thank you for inviting me so graciously into the family," I say to them politely and kindly.

Charlie swoops in. "There is one condition, Jessica."

Uh-oh. "Yes?" I ask him.

"You can't be so formal with us if we're your family!" Charlie laughs.

I breathe out in relief. I thought I wasn't going to be accepted.

Lys comes over to hug me. "Charlie! Don't do that! You nearly stopped her heart from beating right there!"

Charlie laughs. "That was the funny part." He winks at me.

Damen laughs. He wraps his arms around my waist and kisses my head. I giggle.

"Oh! Jesse! I almost forgot!" Lys bounds up to me. "Happy Birthday!" She pulls out a small box from her purse. "This one is from all of us except Damen. Well, Aislinn, Charlie and Jack don't know it's from them, but their money was used to get it. So, happy birthday!"

I chuckle. How typical of Lys to get a present and use other people's money to pitch in. I see Aislinn sigh. Charlie rolls his eyes.

I red box slowly. Inside, resting on foam lays 3 keys on a silver key-chain. I turn over each key to see what they are for.

Lys answers my unspoken question. "That silver key is for the house, because you're going to be living here." I giggle. I guess I am going to be living here.

"The golden key is for your clothes chest that's upstairs in my room. It's brand new, don't worry." I turn it over. Lys had carved into it "Clothes"in swirly script.

"What did you carve this with?" I ask her.

She smiles and holds up her fingernails. I gasp a little. She just laughs.

"The last key is for your new car." I gape at her. She got me a car?"

"No, Jess," she says in response to my thought. "_We_ bought you a car."

I run over and hug her. "Thank you! You don't know how convienent that will be for me."

She laughs. "Well, it will seem super slow once you're one of us."

I smile at her. "So, what kind of car is it?"

A mischevious grin crosses her face. "See for yourself," she tells me. Damen chuckles and pulls me toward the garage.

I gape at the car waiting for me. "A jaguar?" I whisper.

He nods his head. "We also want that to be your first animal blood taste. They are my favorite animal." He laughs.

"I guess we'll be taking a trip to South America, then," I tease him.

"I guess so." He laughs and kisses me.

I look back at my new car. It's shiny red coat of paint makes it look sleek. The windows are tinted. Even though it's a small car, I absolutely love it. I look at the liscence plate.

In big, bulky letters it spells out **"Bite-Me"**.

Damen chuckles beside me. "That was Lys' personal touch."

"I see," I murmur. "So…when I'm…changed, who's car will we ride in?"

"Well, Lys and Jack will probably start up school once you're one of us, just in case you get too thirsty at school."

I cringe.

"So, we might ride with them sometimes, and sometimes we'll ride alone."

"Okay."

Alyssa comes out to the garage then. "Do you like the liscence plate?" She asks me in a smug tone.

"It's suitable," I reply.

She laughs. "Go take a spin in it ,will you?"

I nod my head and pull Damen with me. "You're coming," I tell him.

"Of course, love", he says back to me. I hop to the driver's seat and start the ignition. Damen leans over to kiss me before I speed out of the drive.

"I love it!" I tell Damen as we speed down the freeway. "It's just awesome!"

"I'm glad you like it," he tells me.

I laugh at the rush I'm having. "This is so much fun!"

"Love?" Damen interrupts me.

"Yep?"

"Take a right on that exit. I'm taking you somewhere."

"Okay," I say, a little confused. "Is it somewhere where I have to spend your money?"

"No," he says. "It's somewhere where you have to spend OUR money."

"Ahhh," I say. I would have to get used to that.

I pull into a parking lot that soon becomes familiar to me.

"The mall?" I say.

"Yes, love. You need a dress for dancing tonight, and I saw one that will fit you stunningly. But, since you will shrink a few sizes as a vampire, we are getting one size to fit you tonight and one for when you are immortal."

He is commenting on what size I am. Not the best move.

"Okay," I mumble as I come to a stop. As I step out of the car, I see many people staring in awe at my car. A small smile plays at the corner of my lips.

I walk over towards Damen. He takes my hand and kisses me swiftly on the cheek before we go into the mall.

People we walk by stare at Damen, then sneer at me, probably wondering how I snagged such a sexy boyfriend. My smile grows wider every time someone stares. With a surge of pride, I realize that he's mine. And I'm his.

Damen laughs at my thought. "Of course, love." He kisses me quickly before walking into a cliché store. I follow him.

Rows of dresses surround me. I can't believe all of the vintage designs. Wedding dresses and prom dresses overwhelm the shop, and I'm worried that I will trip and tear some of the elegant fabric.

"You're taking me here?" I hiss at him.

He laughs. "It's only for the best."

"So I see," I mumble. This shop will be wrecked by the time I step out. Damen pulls me towards the back to the receptionist. She files her nails and jabbers on the phone, but when she sees Damen, her eyes widen and she mumbles "I'll call you back" into the phone.

"How may I help you?" She flutters her eyelashes miserably.

Damen smiles dazzlingly at her. "I placed a hold on dress model 6259. Sizes 6 and 3."

Her smile fades as she looks down to me. "I see," she mumbles. "Is the 6 for her?" She tries to sneer.

Damen seems unfazed. "No, the 3 is for her."

She stares me down. "Ah hun, I don't think that'll fit you," she tells me.

Damen replies again steadily. "No, it's not for her right now. It is for her in three weeks."

The attendant starts to get on my nerves as she says "Ahh. Lypo?"

I speak up this time. "No, ma'am. But I'll tell you my trick when I see you again. I'll come back soon."

She smiles smugly. "Okay girly." Her gaze turns flirtatious as she gazes back at Damen. "I'll be right back with the dresses, hun."

"Thank you," Damen says politely. When she is gone, he leans down to whisper in my ear. "When you're changed, we are coming back here on the first Wednesday we can."

"Why Wednesday?" I whisper.

"Because those are the days she works late and is usually cranky." I stare at him. Does he know her? "I read her mind," he tells me.

Oh. Right.

"It'll be fun to come back," I say as she appears with two dresses in hand.

"Here ya go, hun," she leans over the counter to hand the dresses to Damen.

"Thank you," he says to her.

"Let's go try the 6 right now," he tells me as we walk to the changing room. He hands me the 6 and I walk into the room.

I quickly change out of my jeans and tank-top into the dress. I gasp when I see it on me.

It's a royal purple with small noodle straps. A v-neck cut hangs at the top which shows a little too much for my liking. I stare in the body-length mirror. It accents my curves perfectly, draping around my hips and falling in bunches. Black spirals shimmer in and out of sight as I move. My red hair falls in wavy ringlets down my back. I actually look good.

"Jess?" Damen calls, hearing my gasp. "Come out so I can see, please."

I take a deep breath and walk out. He gasps a little and starts to move towards me. His arms curl around my waist as he comes to kiss me.

"You look beautiful," he murmurs against my lips. I push myself closer to him.

Suddenly, the bind starts to act up.

Again, it's like I can't get close enough to him. He grabs me tightly and kisses me hard. My fingers tangle up in his honey-wheat hair as I try to get closer to him. A moan from deep in his throat escapes, and I push myself closer to him. His hand slides up my back to tilt my head to the side.

I willingly turn it so he can kiss my neck. I feel his fangs slide out, denting little marks in my skin. I moan. His teeth tease my tender skin as I sway.

He is about to plunge into my throat when the lady from behind the counter walks in and clears her throat.

I pull back instantly, but Damen stays close to me, keeping an arm wrapped around my waist.

"I'm sorry, ma'am," He says politely. "I was just telling my fiancé how beautiful she looked in that dress."

The sales assistant's eyes narrow at the word "fiancé."

"So I see," she says. "Well, are you going to buy the dresses?"

"Yes ma'am," Damen answers cooly. "One moment, please."

"Hmph." She stalks off back towards the counter.

"Now, where were we?" Damen asks me, grazing my jaw.

The bind has worn off on me, but not for long. "Damen," I whisper. "Not right here. That was too close. She almost saw you bite me."

"We're fine, love," he purrs. Apparently it hasn't worn off him yet. He pulls me to him, kissing me for a long time. "You see?" he murmurs against my lips as his voice takes on a husky tone. "We're fine."

The bind is coming back on me, so I have to act fast. "Damen," I hiss. "I need you to snap out of it." I snap my fingers in front of him. He just pulls me closer so I'm crushed against his chest. He kisses me passionately. I'm about to give in, but when I open my eyes, I see where we are. I slide out of his arms and run back into the changing room.

I know it will hurt him for a moment, but he will snap out of it soon. I quickly change into my normal clothes and walk out. I see him staring at me sadly.

"Damen?" I whisper. Maybe he is still locked down in 'bind mode.'

He take a deep breath. "That was too close," he mumbles in my ear. I sigh in relief. He's over it now.

"I'm glad I snapped out of it quickly," I tell him before we go to pay.

The girl behind the counter sees us and looks disgusted. "Are you going to pay now?" She says with a sneer in her voice.

"Yes," Damen replies smoothly.

She rings up the total. "It's 2000 dollars, sir."

Damen hands her a credit card, unfazed by the amount. Her eyes open in shock as she sees the amount on the credit card. I smirk.

She swipes the card swiftly and gives the card back to him with a shaking hand.

"Here are your bags, sir," she stutters.

"Thank you."

As we turn around, I hear with my half vampire hearing "A girl like that can get a guy like him? Ugh. I hate life."

I chuckle. I'm sure the girl will find someone though. I did.

When we get back to the house, Damen is smiling.

"You look breath-taking in that dress," he tells me.

I blush. "Thanks."

I kisses my cheek. "How hard it will be for me to watch the other guys stare at you."

I blush deeper. "I'm already bound to you, Damen. Don't be jealous."

He laughs. "Of course not, love."

We walk hand-in-hand to the kitchen. No one is there.

"Let's go to my room," Damen says.

"Kay," I reply absent-mindedly. I'm thinking about how awesome my birthday has been so far.

We make it up to his room in record time, but only because he was carrying me and going at a vampire speed. When he opens his door, he stops me.

"Go change into your dress, love."

"Why?" I ask him.

He kisses my cheek. "Because it is almost time to go."

"Oh. Okay." I rush down the hall to the bathroom. I quickly change and brush through my hair.

When I make it back, Damen's door is open. I slowly walk in. "Damen?" I call as I shut the door.

"I'm over here," he replies. I walk in to see him putting on a white button-up shirt.

I gasp. His chest was snowy white and he had an eight-pack.

"What's wrong, love?" He asks. I just walk over and put my hand on his chest.

"Oh." He laughs.

His skin is cold, but it feels good against my flaming skin. I lean in closer to him, wrapping my arms around him.

The bind flares up again. He drops the tie he is holding to grasp me. One hand tangles up in his hair as the other stays on his chest. He picks me up and lies me down on the bed. I roll over onto him, kissing him stronger.

I moan as I roll back over to my side, his lips still locked on mine. I bring one hand up to wrap around his back, but it scrapes against the drawer on my left. I look over.

Of course, I managed to make it bleed. Damen stops kissing me and grabs my wrist, drinking fiercely. I moan and push him further. He stops drinking for a minute to kiss me hungrily before returning to my wrist. I lick my blood off of my lips.

He drinks for minutes on end, groaning with pleasure. At the point when he can finally control himself, he looks up to me.

Oddly, I feel more alive than ever instead of drained. He comes down to kiss me, the binds affect still not gone. I pull his head towards mine and he kisses down my throat.

It suddenly wears off. I'm gasping for breath. He is breathing heavily, but of course he doesn't have to.

"Jessica, do you feel all right? I didn't mean to drink your blood again. I really didn't."

I sigh. "It's fine, Damen. Actually, I'm not feeling light-headed at all."

His eyes look panicky. "You aren't?"

"No."

"Does where I bit you hurt?"

"No."

He sighs in relief. "For a moment there, I thought I had changed you. I can't have you changed just now, because we need to go dancing."

I laugh. "So why didn't it make me feel faint, losing all that blood?"

"Because you have a half vampire DNA now. Maybe not a full half, but you have enough so that it won't make you woozy anymore until I change you."

"Okay." I breath out heavily.

"I'm so sorry that I've bitten you 3 times now, Jessica."

"Damen, all of those were my fault."

"No, they weren't. I wish I had the restraint to stop from drinking from you whenever I see you bleed."

I wrap my arms around him. "If it makes you feel better, I'll make you a deal."

His head lifts up. "What's that?" He murmurs in my hair.

"I'll be super-duper careful not to hurt myself until you change me if…" Here comes the best part for me.

"What is your circumstance, love?" He asks me.

"If you change me tonight. It's my birthday."

He freezes, then pulls away so I can look him in the eyes.

"You want this tonight?" He asks.

I nod my head.

He sighs. "Okay. When we get back from dancing, though. Let me go tell the others." He kisses me quickly and is out of the room.

I sigh. This was probably my best birthday.

The whole Shae family rides in a white limousine. I sit by Alyssa as she gushes over having a new sister by midnight.

"I'm sooooo happy! I can' t believe this is actually going to happen! I'm going to have a sister!" She looks at me. "Well, in theory."

I laugh. "Lys, I have a question."

"Yes?"

"You guys can go in sunlight, right?"

She laughs. "Of course. It's just that it irritates our eyes a little bit so we can't see as well. We are still able to see better than a human though, even in sunlight."

Good. I can still go out in sunlight.

Damen's arm is draped around my shoulders.

"Jesse, dear. I'm so glad you accepted to join our family." Aislinn's warm voice fills me with joy.

"I'm glad you accepted me." I say.

"Of course, dear!" Aislinn sounds appalled. "Why wouldn't we?"

I shrug my shoulders and laugh.

Charlie calls to me from the other side of the limo. "Hey Jess! You like watching football?"

"Erhm…." I reply intelligently.

"You're going to once you're a part of this family!" Charlie's laugh booms throughout the space.

When we make it to the hotel, I step out to see many elegant people dancing in the ballroom. I gasp. Half of them put me to shame.

Damen reads my thoughts. "Of course they don't, love." He takes my hand and we start to dance. His left hand slides down to the small of my waist as his other rests in my hand.

Mostly we sway, but I get a few good turns in. His eyes shine. "So I get a dancer too," he murmurs in my ear. I laugh.

"You could hardly call me that," I tell him.

We dance for hours. Damen was amazing at dancing, and he held me up every time I stumbled the slightest bit.

Everything was fine until I twirled into a couple.

A long, lean muscular man turned around quickly, muttering something to his date. She walked off as he stared at me. Muscles coiled along his arms; you could see that even in the tuxedo. His jet black hair was hanging just above dark brown eyes. No, his black eyes.

I realize with a jolt that he's a vampire. I step back involuntarily. The sharp, angular lines of his face twisted into a smile.

"Very pleased to meet you, my dear," he says, taking my hand and kissing it.

Damen comes rushing over to me at a pace that won't attract attention.

"Are you okay?" he asks me. When I don't answer, he looks up to the vampire I'm staring at. His gaze turns cold.

"Ah. Damen. How nice to see you again," the vampire says.

Confusion sweeps across my features. Damen sighs.

"Jessica. This is Lucius, my brother."

I tear my gaze away from Lucius to stare at Damen. He nods his head slightly and takes my left arm.

"Nice to meet you," I stutter out. Lucius smiles.

"May I have a dance with your lovely tie, brother?" Lucius asks Damen. I feel Damen stiffen.

"Of course," He says politely, and hands me over. His eyes give me the warning of 'be careful'. I nod my head.

Lucius pulls me out to the dance floor as a new song starts. He puts his hand on the small of my back, but unlike Damen, his hand made me shiver. I try to stand as far away as possible, but he just pulls me closer so I am up against his chest.

I hate vampire strength.

"My, you look beautiful, darling." His cold breath lingers on my face.

"Thank you," I reply curtly. I suppose he expects a compliment back, but I don't give him one. He frowns.

"Quite the temper, eh darling?" He pulls me closer.

"Stop calling me that," I snap at him as I realize he has read my mind. I feel so much hatred towards him that suddenly, as I feel him trying to come into my mind, I feel a block. He stops dancing for a moment, surprised by what I just did.

"How did you just do that?" He asks me, amazement in his voice.

"With hatred," I spat. I hate him already. I hate him because of what he did to Damen.

"Darling, calm down," he changes his voice to a husky, deep tone. It makes me want to barf.

"I will not calm down," I hiss. "And you will let go of me now." I turn away, but he keeps his grip on my wrist.

"Not so fast, darling. Has Damen bit you?" He sniffs around my neck.

"No," I reply calmly. He technically hasn't _bit_ me.

"Hm…I guess not." I try to pull away from him, but he keeps his grip. "Finish this dance with me, won't you darling?" He says.

"No," I say. I pull my wrist back with as much force as I can muster, and to my surprise, his grasp weakens. He stares at me, incredulous.

"Quite a specimen you are, darling," he purrs. "We will be meeting again. Goodbye for now." With that, he stalks off to find his previous date. I sigh and walk over towards where I see the Shae's huddled together.

I squeeze in beside Damen to take his hand. He smiles at me sadly.

"Are you okay?" He asks me softly.

I nod my head. "Damen, may I call my mom? It's my birthday."

"Of course, love." He pulls out his cell-phone.

"Thank you," I peck him on the cheek and turn towards the doors to go outside.

I dial in the number. Mom picks up on the third ring. "Jessica?"

"Mom!"

"How are you, honey?"

"I'm doing good."

"How is the school trip going?" She asks. What school trip?

Oh yes. The fake when Lys made up to keep me hostage for two weeks.

"It's great," I lied. "I've seen some really cool things."

"That's wonderful, honey. I wish you could be home for your birthday."

A tear trickles down my cheek. "Me too, mom. But I'll see you soon. I've got something exciting to tell you when I come home."

"Do you, honey? That's great. I love you sweetie. Talk to you soon."

"Bye mom." I click the phone shut. I plan to tell her about the wedding, just not about the vampire thing.

I walk back in to the ballroom. Damen is waiting for me. I hand him the phone.

"It's time to go, love," he tells me.

I smile.

Damen smiles at me. "We are going into another family room. It will be easier to deal with your changing there."

"Okay," I muster up as much courage as I can, but right now, I feel like Courage the Cowardly Lion.

He pulls me into a room that is by the kitchen. There are no windows except for one on the top of the wall, which would stream in sunlight if it weren't pitch black outside. Alyssa squeals beside me.

"It's time! It's time it's time it's time!" she chants in my ear. I laugh and roll my eyes, trying to shake away the nervousness.

The carpet is brown, along with the fabric couches. A wooden table stands in between two couches.

Charlie moves the table out of the way and scoots the two couches close together to create a sort of bed that I can't fall off of.

"How long will the change take?" I ask Damen.

"About a week," he tells me. "It will hurt when there is no vampire biting you, but you will be bitten once a day just to make sure the venom is still in your system."

I gulp. "Okay." I lay down on the couch. I tilt my head up to see a fireplace burning wooden logs and pine needles.

"Will you leave the fireplace running? If I open my eyes, I want something to look at besides a wall," I say.

Aislinn laughs. "Of course, Dear. That will be fine."

I sigh. Damen kisses me quickly before saying, "Are you ready?" I nod my head and prop it up so it will be easy for him to reach my neck.

He leans in towards me, his sweet breath lingering against my neck. I shiver.

Bite me already! I yell in my head. He takes a deep breath and plunges for my throat when Alyssa calls "Wait!" Damen's fangs are extended and touching my skin. He slowly draws back.

"What?" He sounds annoyed.

"The phone's ringing," she says. She runs to get it and is back in a flash.

"Hello?" She asks innocently, as if she wasn't watching me die and then come back to life.

Lys freezes and drops the phone. Damen seems to freeze too, along with Aislinn, Charlie and Jack.

"What?" I ask frantically. "Is something wrong?"

Damen stares down at me. "Lucius bit your mother."


	13. Chapter 13

Oh my gosh you guys. I'm so sorry It took me so long to upload. School sucks, and with 2-3 hours of homework every night, it's hard to keep up. Anyways, here is chapter 13. Hope you like it. This one made me really sad, but it was necessary. I know it's not long, but I'm going to try to write quicker. Enjoy! ***Ace***

_Chapter 13_

My mouth drops open. "What?" I ask in a hoarse voice. "What do you mean?"

Lys comes around to pat me on the back. "The cops found her in your house. They thought it was an animal attack. She is in the emergency room right now."

My breathing starts getting quicker. I was trying to get this straight. "Lucius….bit………my mother," I say slowly, testing the words on my tongue. They don't feel correct.

Lys nods her head. I'm consciously aware that my heart speeds up, but all I can think about is that demon biting my overly-gucchi mother.

I was going to kill him. No joke.

"Do you want to go see your mother, Jess?" Lys asks me quietly.

I nod my head. I can't use my voice right now. It's not possible.

"Let's go, then," Lys prods me to get to my feet. I can't. I'm numb all over.

What just happened?

"Damen, pick her up. I don't know if she can walk right now," Lys tells Damen. He nods his head and swiftly cradles me into his arms.

"It will be alright, okay Jesse?" He murmurs in my ear, but I barely hear him. I'm on my own dimensional plane right now, trying to view what Lucius had done to my mother.

I haven't moved an inch, except for the quick rise and fall of my chest. My arms are still locked up mummy-style against me, my hands curling into fists. It is not until later that I see how hard my fingernails had dug into my palms.

My knees are tucked up to my chin. I still can't understand what happened fully. It's not possible.

I am dimly aware that Damen opens a black car door and sits down with me still in his arms. I see Charlie starting up the car through clouded vision. Aislinn sits in the passenger seat as Lys comes to sit by me in the back, Jack to her left. I feel Damen's intense gaze searching over my face to see if there is any sign I'm still here. But I'm not in the car. I'm miles away, at my own home, watching my mother being bitten by a vampire.

Sometime later, we make it to the hospital.

"Jesse, can you walk?" I hear a voice through the ringing in my ears.

I nod my head slowly. My voice still hasn't returned. He picks me up out of the car and sets me down on the tar slowly. I lose my balance for a second, and Damen's arm is around my shoulder.

"Maybe I should help you a little," he says somberly. On another occasion, I know he would have been laughing with amusement sparkling in his eyes. All I see now is sadness.

Lys takes my left arm and links it through hers. I see Aislinn talking quickly to Charlie as he nods his head. I see Jack walking alone, casting quick glances back in our direction.

My feet drag across the tar. I'm not sure how I managed to keep one foot lifting up after another. Eventually, we reached the large, tinted glass doors with St. Mary's Hospital scrawled on them. Jack holds the door open for Damen and I as Alyssa falls back to talk to Jack.

Damen is glancing down at me every few seconds. I don't know what he is trying to achieve, because I'm not going to faint.

Well, I don't think so.

"Jess, just know that if anything happens, I'm here for you, I love you, and I'm not my brother," Damen whispers in my ear. I look up at him. My speech still hasn't returned, so all I can manage in response is a jerky nod of my head. He seems anxious about my current state.

Charlie walks up to the receptionist and asks for the wing of the emergency room. Her nasal voice rings through the room.

"Who are you visiting?"

Charlie replies in a somber tone. "Maria Hewett."

The receptionist pushes her glasses further up her nose and looks down at a list she has on the table.

"Go down the right wing. Take a left, then look for room 235."

"Thank you," Charlie replies. He motions for us to follow him as he heads towards the hall.

I don't really notice any of the rooms. It's as if I'm in a daze. Nothing matters except for my mother right now.

Damen's arm around my shoulder is the only thing that pushes me further into the hall. He tightens his grip when I wobble, and I'm glad. All that I can feel is the numbness that circulates throughout my body and his cold grip. It feels like his arm is the only thing that shows I'm not in a nightmare.

Charlie stops at a door on the left with a label indicating it was Room 235. He steps aside so I can walk in first. When I don't reach for the handle, Damen opens the door for me. He kisses me on the head before we walk in.

On the north wall, light shines through a large window. The wallpaper is covered in old, floral patterns of daisies and lilies. The room is small. Two black chairs sit against the right wall. My sneakers squeak against the white tile beneath me. The last item in the room hits me with a shock.

A white bed sits by the chairs. IV cords and heart rate monitors hang from the sides, surrounding the head of the bed. I look slowly down to see my mother laying there with tubes stuck in her arms. I hear the slow buzz of my mom's steady pulse as I look over to the heart-monitor screen. Her heart would skip a beat every minute or so.

Her chocolate brown hair was knotted up and matted against her forehead. A white sheet was pulled up around her. Breathing tubes were in her nose as her eyes fluttered spastically in her sleep. It looked like she wanted to move around, but the cords and tubes wouldn't let her. I slowly look to her neck.

Blood-stained gauze is taped onto the left side of her neck. I can see that her neck is still bleeding rapidly. The white thin layers of the gauze are now all red. I gasp.

My voice and emotions come flooding back. I sink to the tile on my knees, sobbing. I can't get enough air to breathe, which makes me sob harder. Damen kneels on the floor beside me, asking me if I can breathe. I nod my head quickly through the sobs. I know I must look like a wreck right now, but I don't care.

Damen rubs my back as I choke over tears. "What did he do to my mom?" I shriek.

Damen hushes me. "Sshhh. You're okay. Everything is fine."

I stare up at him through blurry eyes. "Everything's fine?" I shriek again. "Have you seen her? She looks like a female version of the grim reaper!" I start to hiccup now, which only makes things worse.

Damen scoops me up in his arms and walks toward the two chairs by my mother's bedside.

He sets me down and takes a seat for himself. "How can you stand the smell of the blood?" I manage to choke through sobs. Damen is about to open his mouth, but Lys answers.

"Actually Jess, we are having a really hard time with it right now." Lys is fidgeting with her hands and turning her head away from the smell. "I'm sorry, Jess. We will meet you guys outside." The rest of the Shae family is out of the room in a blur.

"How do you do it?" I hiccup to him.

"Stand the blood? Oh, that's an easy one. You see, ever since I met you, of course other blood is appealing to me, but none can compare to yours. So, right now, it is more tempting for me to bite you than to drink your mother's blood."

I'm shocked through my tears. "Oh," I squeak out.

"Jessica," He pulls my lips to his. "Is this going to change your decision? It's….it's okay if it does."

I look at him, shocked. "Damen, I love my mother, but no way am I changing my mind. Sorry. You're stuck with me."

He laughs and pulls me onto his lap. "That's okay," He murmurs against my cheek.

My mother starts to fidget on her bed. I turn away from Damen and hold my mother's right hand. "Mom?" I call quietly. "Mom? Are you awake?"

Her eyes flutter open. "Jessica?" Her voice is hoarse and she can only get it to a whisper.

"Mom!" Tears of joy rush down my face. "I'm so sorry, mom. Are you okay?"

Her breathing is struggled. She nods her head slightly. "I'm……fine. Jessica…" she drifts off.

"Mom?" My voice starts to get panicky. I squeeze her hand. "Mom?"

Her eyes are glazed. "Jessica…….don't trust him."

I look around the room. "Don't trust who, mom?" Her weak hand points feebly to the wall. I turn around.

Lucius is leaning against the wall with a large smile plastered on his face. I hear Damen growl.

"You bit my mother," I struggle, pointing at him too. My breathing gets heavy.

"You…..YOU MONSTER!" I scream at him. That's the best I could come up with. There was no word for him.

He chuckles. "Of course, darling. I'm a vampire." He walks over to my mother's bedside. "And you will be disposed of soon," he directs my mother.

I'm about to swear at him and do as much damage as I can, but Damen jumps across the room, snarling. He took Lucius off guard, and they both go down onto the white tile. I look over my mother's bed to the ground. Damen is beneath Lucius right now, but Damen's fangs are extended and aiming for Lucius. I turn my head away and look at my mother. I expected to see panic in her eyes, but they were still glazed to a milky hazel.

I take her hand again. "Mom? Mom!"

She is struggling to breathe now. I hear the heart monitor beeping wildly as her heart gallops. "Jess," she whispers through pants. "I love you."

"I love you too, mom."

She squeezes my hand, and I make the connection. She was saying goodbye.

I start to panic. "No! Mom, no! You can't leave me! Mom! Mom! Don't leave, mom! I need you! Mom!" Tears blur my vision again.

She manages to smile feebly and beckons me for a hug. I bend down, making sure not to pull on any of the cords.

"I love you, Jessica." Her eyes droop closed.

I stare at her face. "Mom! No! Mom! Mom! You can't leave me! Mom!" The tears pour down my face openly now. I squeeze her hand tightly. "Mom! Don't leave!" I still hear the monitor beeping wildly, but I know it's not going to be beeping at all soon. "Mom! Don't go! Mommy!" I hadn't used the word mommy since I was eight. "Mom! Come back!"

The heart monitor stops beeping and turns into a dull sound.

I slump to the tile. My mom was gone. I lost both my parents. One from a car accident and another from a retarded vampire. How the hell is that fair?

I can't see. All I can see is black, surrounding my face. I can hear Damen and Lucius fighting, but I don't care. I try to rub away the black that hangs as a veil over my eyes, but it stays. All I can remember is I'm lost. I have no more family.

I have nothing.

My chest throbs unnaturally. I gasp in pain and my hands fly down to clutch my stomach. I'm not sure, buy I might be throwing up. It doesn't matter, though.

Damen and Lucius are still snarling at each other, but one voice is over-powering the other one. I hear tears at fabric. I'm subconsciously aware that I still love Damen and I fear he will lose against his brother, but I don't think about that. All I can think about is my mother.

A choking noise interrupts my thoughts, but I stay on the ground.

"It was _so_ nice to meet again, brother," I hear a voice drawl.

"Leave," I hear a choked threat.

Lucius laughs. "Impatient, yes? Fine, I will leave. But I shall say goodbye to your precious Jessica, yes?"

I want to scream and kick at Lucius, I want him to die and suffer for what he did to my mother. Instead, I kneel on my hands and knees, still seeing nothing but darkness.

Cold hands lift me up quickly so I'm standing on my feet. They slide down to my waist.

"I am truly sorry about your mother, darling," Lucius whispers. "But some must die to fulfill needs, correct?"

I find my voice. "Yes," I whisper with as much venom as possible. "One of those people is you."

I whip around with my hand ready to smack a face. Sadly, he catches my wrist and pulls me close to him.

"I highly suggest not doing that, darling," he breathes in my ear.

"Let me go," I growl at him.

He laughs and pulls me closer so I'm smashed against him. He smiles down at me before his lips crash into mine. I struggle, but it's no use. His hands lead mine up to his neck. They slowly move back down to the small of my back. He pushes me closer.

I pull my hands away from his neck and curl one into a fist. I swing blindly at him.

My fist makes contact with his jaw. I hear a crack. I'm about to smile at my success before feeling a throbbing agony in my knuckles.

He pulls back and laughs. I scream and drop to the floor, clutching my wrist. I squint through tears to see blood on my right hand. I don't care until I remember that I'm in a room with vampires.

I look up. Lucius is staring at my hand, lust clearly written on his face. I see his lips curl up and expose his fangs. I scream again.

He arches through the air, completely focused on me. I close my eyes and wait for the pain of a different vampire drinking my blood. I dimly remember Lys saying that once a vampire has drank my blood, another can't, or I will die.

"I'm coming, mom," I think silently.

I hear a loud bang. I open my eyes to see Damen intercepting Lucius' attempt to get to me. They crash to the floor in a blur. All I can make out of the scene is that Damen is on top. Even with half-vampire senses, it is hard to concentrate.

Lucius is pinned down and stunned. Damen is over to me in a second and takes my hand, lifting it to his mouth. I let out a sigh of relief as he drinks my blood, cleaning it of bacteria. He swiftly licks my knuckles to close up the wound and turns back to his brother.

"Don't ever touch her again," He growls, taking Lucius by the throat.

Lucius laughs breathlessly. "Don't count on it, brother." With that, he spins out of his brother's grasp and is leaning casually against the wall on the other side of the room.

"I hope to see you soon, darling," He sneers at me.

I glare at him as he laughs and spins out of the room.

I stare at the door. Mere seconds ago, my mother's murderer had walked out of it, unharmed. With this, I sink to my knees with my head in my hands. My sobs echo through the room.

My mother should be down on the floor with me, rubbing my back and comforting me. I shouldn't be alone, weeping in a pool of my own blood, mourning over her death.

Damen comes to kneel beside me and cradles me in his arms. "Sshh," he murmurs into my hair. "You'll be okay. I won't leave."

I turn my tear-streaked face into his shirt and cry harder. He holds me tightly as I drench his shirt.

When I have calmed down a little bit, so my sobs have turned into wails, he turns my face so I look him straight in the eye.

"I was not drinking your blood because I couldn't resist it," he says sadly. "I drank it to clean the wounds…and so that Lucius wouldn't."

I nod my head. If I wasn't so depressed, I would have smiled.

"Let's go," he whispers. He stands up and places me on my feet so I can say goodbye to my mother for the last time. My tears fall on her face as I lean over at her. Her face is bitter-sweet. She looks so worried, but happy that I'm okay. This makes me cry harder.

I take her right hand and look straight into her open eyes.

"Mom," I whisper through sobs. "I'm so sorry. Please, don't leave me. I need you, mom."

I get no answer.

I brush her matted chocolate brown hair away from her face. I bend down and kiss her forehead before saying, "I love you, mom. I'm so sorry."

I walk back over to Damen and he hugs me tight as I blindly walk away from my mother.


	14. Chapter 14

_**Ok guys. I'm so sorry I take so long to upload. Anyways, I kinda liked this chapter. Please Review! The lack of reviews I've been getting lately discourages me and makes me think that this story is blowing over. Is it? If it isn't, please review!**_

_*****Ace*** Enjoy!**_

_ Chapter 14_

Damen cradles me in his arms and bounds up the winding stairs. I'm sure he could have just jumped up the winding stairs and been to the door in a second, but he was gracious enough to take the stairs as so not to jostle me. I turn my tear-stained face into his chest. His cold skin soothes the blood that rushes to my cheeks.

"I'll always be here, love," he murmurs in my ear as he open the heavy wooden door in the front of his house.

"I….I know," I sob.

I feel wind rustling through my hair, and before I can look up I am put down on the bed in Damen's room.

"How do you run that fast?" I whisper. "We were just at the door."

He chuckles. "Vampire speed."

I crack a small, pained smile through tears. "I guess I'll have that soon."

He frowns. "Yes, I guess you will."

I stop crying, shocked by the dull tone in his voice. "What….What do you mean by that?" I ask him quietly.

He sighs and sits down on the bed beside me. "I mean, Jessica," He says slowly, trailing his fingers down my jaw. "That it will be different to see you like us. I won't have to carry you anymore. You will be able to keep pace with me. You won't look the same."

His fingertips dance along my jaw-line as it hangs open. "Are you saying….that you don't want me like you? You don't….want me anymore?" I struggle for words.

"No! Not at all, Jesse." His voice is appalled and his eyes are wide with shock. He leans in closer. "What I'm saying is, it will take some getting used to on my behalf to see you like me. Don't think that means that I don't want you like me, however wrong it is to change your soul." He kisses me gingerly on the lips.

"But it will also take some change on your part too, love," he tells me, breaking off the kiss. "You will wake up hungry, or _thirsty_ may I say. Your body has a quicker response to your thoughts then it does as a human. Your stance, your fluidness, your form, your figure, your face, your eyes. Everything will be different." He pauses and sees the worried look in my eyes. "But Jessica," he says softly, pulling me onto his lap. "Different is not bad. It will be….so much easier for me to be with you."

"Will I….." I swallow. This next question sounds very shallow. "Will I look better than I do now?" I ask him.

He laughs. "Love, you are already beautiful. But yes, in other's perspectives, you will look better than supermodels."

I sigh in relief. I could not live forever in this body.

"Damen?" I ask softly.

"Yes?"

I swallow down my pride for this next question. "Won't you get bored of me after a thousand years or so?"

He spins me around so I'm looking him in the eyes. He takes my face in his smooth, long hands before saying "Jessica, when you find a soul mate, you will never get tired of them. Are you tired of me, Jess?"

"No, No! I mean, Damen, I want to spend eternity with you. That's a _really_ long time, if you haven't noticed. I'm just worried that you'll get bored of me and leave…_and then I will be stuck, living forever without you._"

That sounded like a romantic movie line. Bleh. Who was I turning into? The kid who finds love in high school? I guess so.

"Jessica," Damen groans. "I will never get tired of you. How many times must I say this? I love you, I want you forever, and I will never get tired of you and walk away. I will never cheat on you, because no other woman holds my interest anymore. I love you Jessica Hewett, and I always will. I love how you always complain about your hair in your thoughts when honestly, it's the most beautiful, striking red I have ever seen. With your hair and your aura showing through your eyes, everyone will drop at your feet. But I'm not only in love with you because of your physical beauties, Jessica, though they are many." He raises an eyebrow.

"I also love you because, at first, you made your decision only to save me. You didn't love me then, but you didn't want to hurt anyone. I love you because your modest and virtuous and caring and loving. You are everything I have ever hoped for in a partner." He pauses to kiss me lightly. "I just hope you feel the same way."

I immediately wrap my arms around his neck. Tears of joy are streaming down my face now. "Damen," I say breathlessly. "I love you."

He wraps his arms around my waist. "As I love you," he whispers in my ear. We stay in that position for a long time. It could have been minutes or hours. All I knew was that I was crying tears of joy for Damen, tears of sadness for my Mom and Dad, and tears of anger and loss for Lucius. At those last tears, I vow that once I am immortal and strong, Lucius won't live long.

Damen makes me a pastrami sandwich for lunch. It is delicious, and I wonder how he could be such a great chef when he never needs to cook. I finish it quickly to find myself still hungry.

"What else would you like, Jesse?" Damen asks me.

"Erhm…." What _do_ I want to eat? Well, besides that little baggy of Damen's blood in the fridge. I squirm at the thought. "Can I just have some yogurt? I mean, if you have some, that is."

He smiles. "We keep yogurt in the fridge outside. I'll be right back." He is gone in a second. I sigh.

How could my life be coming together, yet it was just ruined?

Damen is back with strawberry yogurt in his hand. "For you," he holds the yogurt and a spoon out to me.

I fidget. "Um…Damen?"

He looks at me oddly. "Yes?"

This is awkward. "I don't…eat my yogurt with a spoon."

He raises an eyebrow. "How do you eat it, then?"

I look down at my hands while saying, "through a straw."

He stares at me with a look disbelief on his face. Suddenly, he starts laughing.

"What's so funny?" I ask him, frustrated.

"You are just different. That's all," he tells me before pecking me on the cheek. "Hold on, love. Let me go get you a straw." He rushes over to the cupboards. In a moment he is back, holding a glass straw in his hands.

"Damen, I don't need a _glass_ straw. A plastic one from Wendy's will do," I say sarcastically.

"Jessica, we don't have plastic straws." He says seriously.

"Oh." I say slowly and take the straw out of his hands. I stab it into the lid of the yogurt before taking a long slurp. An odd taste comes up. I lick the top of the straw to find the taste is from it.

"Damen, what do you wash your utencils with? This straw has some weird taste on it."

Damen looks puzzled for a minute. I stare at him.

His look quickly turns to horror. He lunges for my yogurt and flicks the straw out of my hand. He washes it quickly under hot water and is back to me in a second.

"Jessica, are you okay? Can you hear me?" He asks, worried.

I'm confused. "I'm fine, Damen. What's going on?"

He spins around the room quickly, looking for something that he can't seem to find. He comes back and swoops me into his arms as I gasp a little at the impact.

We are at Alyssa's room in a second. I'm laying down flat on my back on her bed, and the whole Shae family is crowded around me. I hear no conversation, but I know there is silent thoughts being passed back and forth.

"What's going on?" I ask wildly. Everyone stops in their frenzy and whirls around to look at me. Lys comes by my head.

"Are you okay, Jesse?" She asks me, feeling my forehead and looking into my eyes.

"I'm…I'm fine," I stammer. "What's going on?"

Aislinn comes up on my right. "Charlie, go grab a baggie."

I don't understand what she is saying until I catch "baggie". She meant _blood baggie. _

"No way am I drinking blood right now!" I say.

Aislinn shakes her head. "Honey, you already have. I'm sorry, but the weird taste in the straw was blood. We use the straws sometimes, and we haven't had a human over in ages. I guess we forgot to wash them. That was Alyssa's straw."

Everything clicks. The _blood_ was the odd, tangy taste that stuck to my tongue as I tried to swallow the yogurt. Uh-oh.

"So…what's happening to me?" I ask, panicked.

Lys answers. "Either you go through the transformation now, or you die. Your choice."

"How long do I have to choose?" I ask quickly.

"About a minute," says Lys.

"Damn it!" I exclaim, panicked.

Jack chuckles at my choice of words.

"Uhm……stick with plan one! Just change me!" I say loudly.

Aislinn squeezes my hand and quickly trades places with Damen.

"I'm so sorry," He says. "I love you."

"I love you too, Damen. See you soon." I smile feebly. I know I will be out cold for a while as I'm going through the transformation. I see him bending down towards my neck as Charlie comes in with the baggie with Damen's blood, and an extra bag. Damen licks the tender skin on my neck as to soften it. "Goodbye," I whisper.

The last thing I think about is my mom.

"_Now class, settle down. We will start off with some legends from right in our town. Let's see….mmmm……..Ms. Abigail Sharsh." _

_Abigail groans before speaking. _

"_The oldest myths here are of three origins. The first one is supposedly people with fins who could live underwater. Basically, mermaids. The second one was of shape-shifters, who could transform themselves into animals or glob or some mutant kind of thing like that. The third one is the D.F. This stands for the death feeders, who supposedly suck blood or eat people, or something like that. I don't really look into it much." Abigail paused. "Why is this important? These are old-people legends." _

_Ms. Clemont stares at Abigail hardly until she started to fidget in her seat. _

"_Ms. Sharsh, for your information, not all of these are myths." The class erupted with laughter. There were no such thing as mermaids, shape-shifters, vampires or for that matter, even zombies._

My mind is filled with the memory of the first day of English class. Who would have known Ms. Clemont was correct about the vampires? I wouldn't have believed it. At least, until I was bound to one.

I dimly remember about what I'm going through right now. I see myself drinking from the glass straw and questioning Damen about the odd taste. I see his puzzled expression turn to horror. I see his face as he runs up the stairs to rush me into Lys's room. I see them all crowded around me, each face looking anxious and pained. I feel the shock spread through me as Alyssa tells me my two options at that moment. I hear the harsh curse explode out of my mouth before I yell for Damen to change me quickly. I see the pain in his eyes at how quickly this has come. I see Charlie rushing in with the irresistible baggie with Damen's blood in it, and the disgusting baggie with blood sloshing around. I feel my eyes open wide as Damen pierces into my skin, and I remember my last thought.

"_Bye, mom."_

I return back to the present. I know that I'm gaining consciousness now, but my eyes stay glued shut. My mouth won't open and I can't smell a thing at the moment. The only sense I have right now is my hearing.

"Damen, she will be fine." I hear Lys's reassuring voice split the silence.

"Lys, her body wouldn't let me change her. It chose to die, but somehow, here she is, still alive. It will only be a matter of time until she passes." His voice is rough and weary.

I hear a smack. "Damen, I don't care what the hell you think. She is going to survive, I know it. I can't be without a sister, so just suck up your little 'I'm so lonely' speech and think positive."

I would have smiled if I could. Go Lys. But her words confuse me.

I thought I was supposed to be changing into a vampire. Did Damen say my body wouldn't let him change me? Does that mean I'm dying?

I start to panic until I realize that I'm feeling fine. Death can't feel fine, at least in my opinion.

I slowly remember that vampires can read minds. I call out to Damen with my mind. _"Damen! Get over here! I'm fine!" _

I hear two gasps in unison from the other side of the room.

"Was that Jesse?" Lys whispers.

I roll my eyes under my heavy eye-lids. _"Yes! I'm fine! I just can't open my eyes!"_

I don't even hear the two vampires coming to me, but I know they are both there when I feel an icy hand curl over mine.

"I am so relieved you're okay," Damen says out loud.

"_Why aren't I a vampire right now? Why am I not dead or un-dead?" _

Silence greets me before Alyssa says, "we don't know. We're just happy you're alive."

I guess I'll have to figure that one out on my own.

"Love, did my bite hurt you at all?" Damen asks me.

"_No. I thought you said being changed hurt?" _ I answer him mentally.

"It should. When a vampire means to change someone, they use a large dose of venom. Apparently, it didn't work on you this time." Damen answers slowly.

I start to panic. _"Does that mean I will never be able to become a vampire?" _I ask.

Lys laughs, joining into the conversation. "No, you _will_ be a vampire soon. Once you have a tie with someone, it makes sure that you will be a vampire or die. And since you've already made your decision, you'll become a vampire. It just didn't work that time, for some bizarre reason….." Lys trails off. "Any who, you will be a vampire. You'll just have to try getting most of your blood drained again." She laughs.

I groan mentally. Great.

I feel my eyes start to peel open. I fight the darkness that is sticking them together. After many tries of trying to get them open, I fight through and rub my eyes to see Alyssa and Damen sitting on the bed. I feel sand in my eyes and I rub it away. I'm shocked to see how much of it is on my eyelashes.

"How long was I out?" I say out loud. My voice is raspy and groggy.

"Two days," replies Lys cheerfully. I roll my eyes, still trying to get all of the sand out of them. "You aren't a very heavy sleeper, by the way," Lys says. "I decided to try jumpstarting you once, and you started flailing around the bed." She chuckles. I glare at her.

"You never jump-start someone in their sleep!" I exclaim.

"I do." She says with a mischevious grin spreading on her face.

I am about to say a smart comment back to her, but my stomach interrupts me.

"Let's go eat," Damen says.

"You too?" I ask him.

"No."

I frown. "Oh. Okay."

He picks me up in his arms and in a second, we are down in the kitchen. Aislinn is sitting at the table with a huge smile on her face.

"I am so relieved you're awake," Aislinn tells me.

"I'm glad I am too." I say quietly.

"What would you like to eat, love?" Damen asks me softly.

I think slowly. "Hmm……..could we order some pizza?"

He chuckles. "We have never had pizza delivered here. I guess it's worth a try." He grabs a cell phone off the kitchen counter and takes a phonebook out of a drawer. I flip to the page with NYPD pizza phone number on it and his fingers type on the keys rapidly. After three rings, they pick up.

"Yes, I'd like a small cheese pizza, a large soda, and a box of fried dough."

Yum. How did he know fried dough was my favorite thing from there? Oh yes, mind reading.

"6486 East Shallownight Lane," Damen's smooth voice speaks again.

"Yes, that will be all. Thank you." He hangs up and puts the phone on the counter.

Damen turns to me. "Would you like to watch a movie?"

I nod my head. He picks me up once again and we are in the theater room in record time. He swiftly picks out a movie as I curl into a plush chair. Once he has the movie running, he comes over and lifts me up so that I can sit down on his lap. I sigh once we are both settled.

Tears trickle down my cheeks. I wish mom was here.

Damen turns me around. "What's wrong, love?"

I sniffle. "I wish my mom was here."

He pulls me against his chest.

"I'm so sorry," he murmurs against my head.

I look up to him. "Promise me I'll always have you." That sounded so much better in my head.

He kisses me and mumbles against my lips "I promise."

I sigh and curl closer to him.

Halfway through the movie, he leans down and kisses me hungrily. I return it with ease. The bind is flaring up.

He rolls me over so he is on top of me. I kiss him harder as a deep moan rips out of his throat. I wrap my arms around his torso to pull him closer to me. His hands trace the planes of my face as mine hug him tighter. I know that his fangs have slid out, but I don't care.

He nibbles at my bottom lip with his teeth. I know that he is struggling not to sink his fangs into me. I love him for that, that he would refrain himself from the one thing he wants most as to protect me.

I stop him from kissing me for a moment. "Damen," I say, panting heavily. "Try again."

His expression turns puzzled. "Try what?"

I roll my eyes. "To change me! Do it now!"

I would have thought he would argue, but since the bind was there, he simply lowered his mouth to my neck. He licks it slowly to make my skin softer. I feel his teeth nibble at the soft part of my neck. I shiver with pleasure. I hear Alyssa's scream from upstairs saying "Hurry! Damen is about to change her!"

I don't get to see the family come down, because Damen's sharp canines sink into my neck. I scream. It hurt when he was injecting venom.

My back arches so my stomach is squished against his as he drinks hungrily. My hands want to claw at my neck to stop the pain, but instead I keep them wrapped tightly around him. I know that probably isn't helping, because that gives him an easier way to my neck. I don't care, though. This is what I want.

The pain is excruciating. It feels like a fire so hot it's cold. But when the cold kicks in, stabbing icicles plunge into my neck. I feel like I'm being ripped apart by a hungry bear. The pain quickly spreads to my head.

It was like a migrane that hurt so bad, your vision blacked out. The ringing in my ears had the volume of a crowd of a million people screaming. My nose feels like it is filled with dry ice, and it hurts every time I breathe. When I think that my head is about to explode, the pain moves down to my chest.

My heart spasms. I struggle to breathe, like a really bad case of heart-burn. My ribs splinter one by one, breaking into a thousand pieces. My lungs fold in on themselves as I try to get oxygen. I am dimly aware of Damen still moaning and drinking my blood. I lost my screams long ago when the ringing in my ears started.

When I think it couldn't get any worse, the pain spreads down to my arms and legs.

It starts with a slow tingle, like the feeling of a foot falling asleep. Slowly, the tingle turns into pricks. The pricks crawl over my limbs. The pricks soon turn into sharp needles. At this, I feel myself thrashing wildly in the chair. Damen pushes on my chest with one hand and keeps both of my wrists in the other so he can drink easier.

With the cold fire and the icicles in my neck, the black-out migrane, the dry ice in my throat, my lungs folding in, my ribs splintering, and the sharp needles stabbing me internally, I pass out into a nightmare of pain.


	15. Chapter 15

_Chapter 15_

Even though my body is unconscious, I still feel the pain. My head feels like a bomb that needs to explode, but won't. My limbs are slowly being torn pore by pore. My heart gallops wildly, and I might as well be having a heart attack.

I dimly remember that there is something worth enduring this pain. Even though I don't think it's worth enduring now, something in my subconscious mind says it is. I don't remember what, or what's going on. All I know is the icy fire that burns its way through my body. I don't know if I'm screaming, or moving, or just staying completely still like a cube of ice. It doesn't matter. I just need the fire to _end. _ I feel heat so strong that it pushes me down. The cold is so dense it goes past numbing me and gives me the worst pain.

I want to die. I don't remember anything except for this pain. It burns through my memories. It burns through the good and the bad. It melts my body into a puddle before the ice comes to freeze me for eternity.

However much I scream in my numb, burning mind for the fire to go away, it lingers, licking against the edges of my sanity.

"_Hang on, Jess. It's okay. You're changing!" _ I hear a voice in my head. It's feminine, and trills through the air in my mind.

Who is it?

"_It's Lys! I know, you don't remember anything right now, but try! You will remember when you're finished. I'm here to keep your mind off of the fire." _

If I could locate where my eyes were, I would have rolled them. I don't even know this person, and how the hell did they get in my head and warn me about the fire?

"_Watch your language, Jess! When you wake up dead," _ the voice laughs at something I don't understand. _" You'll thank me! Now, let's think about that beautiful size three dress Damen bought you. When you go back to visit that clerk from the store, she is going to gape. I am SO coming along!" _

The voice rambles on, but I lose track at the name Damen. It rang a bell. Who was it? I rack my melted brain to remember. I try to file through the mess that is up in my head, but it sends a sharper pain through my mind. The pain in my mind intensifies the rest of the pain coursing through my body.

My heart beats faster, and every breath that I take rips up my throat into flames. My ribs crack instead of splinter. My arms and legs aren't filled with needles now, they are snapping under pressure, like being run over by a truck. My brain intensifies again, and I feel like I'm being electrocuted. The thing I never knew about electrocution was that even after, the feeling stays just as clearly. A never-ending cycle of pain.

"_Oohhh! Jess! Since this is just your first day of changing, just to let you know, you have six more days. I'm going to tell you that the pain gets worse every minute, and by day seven, erhm…….well let's not go there right now. The good news is you will survive and have the rest of eternity to blame us! Anyways, everyday you will be bitten by Damen to keep the venom fresh. It won't hurt then once he bites you, because you already have the venom in your system. It will numb you for a while. So, your second dosage of venom is coming up right now, kay?" _

Okay, what the hell was she talking about?

"_Becoming a vampire! Jeesh! Even I wasn't this out of it! Damen! Get over here so that I don't have to listen to her swear anymore!" _

The voice leaves instantly, but is replaced by another huskier one with a seductive tone.

"_Good evening, love." _

I am so confused. Who am I? Who is talking to me? Who thinks that they are a vampire? _What_ is a vampire?

"_My, you have it bad. Don't worry, your memory _will_ be clearer than ever next Saturday night." _

Before I could try to decipher what this person was saying, I am immediately numbed of the pain. All I feel are two small but deep sharp things protruding into my neck. They don't hurt, though. They actually feel…good.

My senses come back. I hear moaning. I realize that it is coming from me. My memory comes back. Damen is biting me so I can spend eternity with him. I'm going through pain to have eternity in bliss. I remember why this is so important that I endure the horrible pain.

I feel my hand shoot out and tangle in Damen's hair. I haven't opened my eyes, because I'm not capable of the strength for that. All of my other senses are back, though. I feel Damen curling his fingers around mine. I hear the unpleasant moans crawling out of my mouth, and I smell the blood. I taste the dryness of my mouth, and I thirst for water.

Still not blood yet, I think to myself.

"_That will kick in around day four, love,"_ Damen tells me while still drinking my blood.

Oh. Well then. Only six more days of this agonizing pain.

As Damen draws back, I hold on to the memory of why I'm doing this, and I wait for the next 24 hours to roll around so that I can feel numbness again.

* * *

The pain rolled in waves, but instead of decreasing, they gained power by the minute. A flood of pain would roll through me, and it would increase. I didn't know if I was silent or screaming. I didn't know if anyone was with me. For all I knew, I was expelled into the icy fire pit for eternity.

I tried to hang on to the memory of Damen biting me, and why I was doing this. When that memory wouldn't stay, I would grasp onto another one.

_I step into the warm water of the shower, trying to collect my thoughts. I can feel at least three people in my mind now. After you know someone is in your head, it's easy to see when they are. _

_I sigh. "I want my own thoughts!" I yell in my head. I immediately feel two people recoil. One person is still in my head._

_I shake my head. The last vampire is most likely Damen. There's only one way to get him out of my head, even though it would hurt him. _

_I take a deep breath before thinking "I wish Damen would leave me alone! Maybe I won't choose option one. Option two sounds better at the moment."_

_I feel him recoil instantly. I know already that seeing other vampires claim me will hurt him the most. Good. I need my own space. _

_When I step out of the bathroom, I expect to find Alyssa's room empty. Instead, I see Damen standing right in my way. _

"_Oh!" I gasp, clutching my towel. This was awkward. _

"_I need to talk to you," he tells me. _

"_Can it wait until I'm dressed?" I ask sarcastically._

"_No."_

"_Well then hurry. I'm cold." _

_He rolls his eyes. "Do you really want me to leave you alone? Do you really want other vampires to eat you?" Sadness fills his eyes. _

_Uh-oh. I didn't know that would hurt him this much. _

_I decide to tell the truth. No use trying to keep secrets from vampires. _

"_Damen….I just need some time to think. I don't want to be eaten. I just want you out of my head so I can think in peace. Plus, aren't I like, a prisoner or something until Lucius leaves town and I make my decision?" _

_He stares at me. "When you make your decision, you are free."_

"_Well I haven't made a decision yet," I lie to him. I bite my lower lip, hoping not to get caught in the lie. _

_I bite my lip too hard. _

_It starts to bleed a little. I lick it quickly, knowing that if he smells my blood, I won't get an option. _

_Sadly, my attempts at covering up the scent don't work. He leans into me, kissing me ever so slightly where I bleed. He licks my lip, taking away the drop of blood._

_I brace myself for death. Damen takes me into his arms, still kissing me. I don't even try to struggle. He is drinking my blood, but it doesn't hurt. I bring him closer to me. He drinks greedily now. I'm feeling light-headed. I swoon. I thought being bitten by a vampire would hurt. It is quite the opposite. _

_I would be moderately okay with death right now. _

_At the last second, when I think I'm about to pass out, he pulls away. His eyes are shocked. He looks at me, where I'm swaying on my feet. He is by me in a second, laying me down onto Alyssa's bed. _

I push the pain out of my mind momentarily to relive the memory. That was the first time Damen drank my blood. It was the first time I felt something more than just a longing. I felt a need for him. I knew that no matter what, I would make him mine. I hoped desperately that he could love me, and that I could spend eternity with him.

I wish I could see his face right now. It would be so comforting to know that he wasn't just a fictional character of my imagination. To know that he wasn't just something the pain in my mind had conjured up.

The pain sinks deeper inside me. I am suddenly aware of every single inch of my body. The needles in my skin have turned into trucks running over me. The crushing sensation in my lungs turned into a deprivation of air.

"Jesse, love, it's almost time for your fourth bite."

It had already been four days? I guess I was replaying the memory very slowly, because right before that had been day one.

I dimly remember something important about the fourth bite. What was it? It was in the back of my mind, just out of my reach.

I forget about my worries when I feel to sharp incisors sink into my skin. My senses become clear and I wait for the rush and pleasure to kick in from Damen's bite.

It never comes.

Instead, I feel my throat turn dry. Dryer than a bone, it threatened to burst in flames. With the dryness of it, I hoped it would burn. Even a flaming fire pit would feel better than this. I couldn't breathe or speak. I couldn't scream to warn Damen. I couldn't even remember the pain coursing through the rest of my body. All I felt was the dryness of my throat.

Damen kept on injecting his venom into my bloodstream, but I didn't notice. I just waited in silent agony until he pulled back.

"There you go. Jess, are you okay?"

_No! _ I scream in my head.

"Damen, you idiot, it was her _fourth _bite." I hear Alyssa's irritated voice.

"Oh. Here you go, love. I forgot. I'm so sorry." He is beside me, pushing a plastic bag in front of my nose. He tilts it up slowly, but instead, I snatch it from him and gulp it down. The tangy warm taste sizzles down my throat, drenching the fire. The liquid is gone in a second, and my hands reach for more.

Damen chuckles and brings me another bag. I rip into it easily with my canine teeth.

The tangy liquid drizzles down my chin as I gulp another bag down. The fire goes down, but I still feel like I need more. Damen brings me another bag, and I drink it slower this time, savoring the foreign taste that it places in my mouth.

When I finish my drink, I manage to think _"What drink is that? That was delicious!" _

Alyssa answers me. "That was blood."

Normally I would care, but all I think is _"More." _ I feel another bag pressed into my hands and again, I rip it open with my razor sharp teeth.

The next few days went by in routine. The pain in my body would stay throughout the day, and around the evening, my throat would turn dry. Damen would bite me quickly, then hand me three blood bags that I drank.

On day six, I felt a major change take place through my body. My hearing heightened, and I could hear my heart pumping blood wildly throughout my body. I could hear my labored breathing, and I could hear every shift of movement around the room. Charlie's large feet thudded against the carpet floor. Aislinn's petite feet fluttered around the room hastily. Alyssa's feet puttered around the room gracefully. Jack would stay completely still, unmoving. Damen would move from each side of the room occasionally.

How could I know all this with just hearing?

I hear Alyssa's small giggle. "Damen, Jess is getting her senses."

I hear Damen's body move towards me. "Distracting, isn't it love? I know, you can hear us move around now."

I hear Lys dance towards me as a vintage silk dress brushes against her rock hard skin.

I still can't believe I can know all this without seeing them.

"Oohhh! Smell is up next! My favorite!" I hear Lys shout. What the hell was she talking about?

I find out seconds later. Scents fill the room. Lavender, Amber, worn jeans, mint, pumpkin bread, oranges, clementines, cologne, leather, silk, rose, ripe apples, cookie dough, cake batter, grapefruit, sunlight, fall, crisp autumn leaves, withering grass, and so many other new smells that I wasn't aware existed wafted into my nose. I breathed as deeply as my collapsed lungs would let me.

Lys laughs. "I always find it funny when that first breath hits. But I've never, ever seen a face as funny as Jess's. Imagine if it looked human!" She burst into rounds of laughter.

I wonder what my face was like then. Did it look human? Or did I look like a gorgeous being? I wonder what contorted expression was on my face now.

I hear Damen (with my heightened hearing) walk over to me with inhuman speed. He smells of musk, dawn, leather, peppermint, and a hint of cologne, although I know he isn't wearing any.

He laughs. "Just letting you know what I smell like."

I snort with laughter in my head. _I have never heard that before,_ I tell him.

He walks away and Aislinn comes up. She has a distinct, feminine smell. Roses, lavender, sunlight, cinnamon, and vanilla blend together as she walks towards me.

She strokes my hair while saying softly "Thank you for joining our family." I would have cried if I hadn't been in a paralyzed state.

Lys comes up to me next. With a combination of oranges, clementines, strawberries, cake batter, cookie dough, and kiwi, she smelled like a fruity blend.

Jack comes up next. I only recognize one smell from the many that surround him. I smell the rainforest air as he passes by. It's a refreshing smell.

Charlie comes last, smelling of smoke from a fire, embers, sunset, sunflowers, and freshly baked bread.

I had never noticed how many characteristics each of them had. The only thing I wondered about was the outdoor smells that didn't emanate from them.

Charlie answers my question. "You're smelling outside."

That far away? I'm starting to love vampire senses.

I knew my sight would come later, because I couldn't open my eyes right now. Taste and feeling would come when I was fully changed.

I waited for the last day of my transformation.

After dozing off into a field full of smells in my mind, I awake to sharp pain. Sharper than the other pains which crushed me and charred my body. This wasn't pain, this was _agony_. I couldn't breathe. My heart is beating rapidly, at least 250 beats per minute, although that is inhumanly possible. Then again, I'm not human. Not fully.

I thrash wildly around, trying to beat the agony out of my body. The icy fire turned into a hot fire. Too hot. Scorching. I can't understand what's happening, but suddenly I hear Lys's frantic call to the rest of the family.

"It's almost over!" She yells through the house. I hear four pairs of feet enter the room quickly, and I suddenly feel breathe on my face.

"It's okay, Jess. It will be over soon. You're almost done."

Almost isn't soon enough. The agonizing fire won't leave, and it gets hotter every second. From hot, to flaming, to scorching, to blazing, to lava, to so hot I can't describe. My heart beats quicker as the pain increases. I arch my back, trying to get the flame out of my body. If I had thought the past week had been torture, it wasn't. Not compared to this. It was like picking daisies from a field compared to this.

It won't stop. The flame just increases, pulsing around my heart. As it chars the edges of my heart, I breathe harder, trying to get oxygen to my lungs. My heart starts to collapse into my lungs. I beg and plead with the backs of my eyelids to stop the pain.

I hear my heart pick up its' pace, fighting quicker, but slowly giving into the flame. I beg for the fire to end or swallow me up already.

My heart takes off one last time, pushing with every beat. It stutters twice, choking on defeat. The fire dies down as my heart gives one last faint beat.

I open my eyes to see my new family staring down at me.


	16. Chapter 16

_ Okay guys! I'm soo so sorry that it's been so long to upload! I've been really busy, and with finals coming up, it's going to go , since my two week spring break is coming up, there will be chapters really quickly then! Wait about 3-4 weeks for mega-fast uploading! Then, in the summer, well, let's just say that you are going to have to turn your computer on every few hours to stay up to date with the story. Anyways, here is chapter 16! _

_Hope you like! And please please please review! I'm not sure what you guys think of the story right now, so I need to know!_

_Chapter 16_

"How are you?" Damen asks me cautiously as I sit up on the couch in one fluid movement. I try to find my voice to answer him, but I can't. Instead, I just nod my head. I'm too distracted by all the colors whirling around the room.

Twilight didn't describe at all what it felt like to be a vampire.

It felt like my eyes were wide open. Each color in the room was so defined, so clear and separate from the others. I could see different shades of whites and pales and peaches on the wall paint. On the large windows to my right, I could see the fingerprints on the glass. The carpeting that I thought had been tan was actually a pale brown mixed with light orange and a hint of pink. The mahogany table in front of me was swirling with colors in the wood. There were so many layers of colors over others. I whip my head up to look at a light. It didn't hurt to look at it for a long time anymore. I could see the soft yellow glow that emanated from it, but I could also see a cream in the light around it. I could see colors even in the air, as they danced off of stray dust as it floated along in the air.

I whip my head back down to see my family staring down at me, once again.

"Jess? Are you okay?" Damen asks again and reaches for my hand.

I flinch and next thing I know I'm across the room, back smashing against the wall.

_I had just been over on the couch, right?_ I think hesitantly. _How did this happen?_

Alyssa laughs, her voice piercing through the air. Instead of talking, though, she thinks.

_Vampire speed! Oh! And now you can read all of our minds! Silent communication takes a while to get used to, but hey! It's cool!_

My eyes open wider and before I can think through the consequences, a feral snarl rips through my mouth.

Damen is by me in an eighteenth of a second.

"Calm down, Jessica. You're all right."

I know _I'm _alright! What's wrong with my body?

He reaches for my hand, and I flinch but allow him to take it.

"It's weird reacting before thinking, isn't it?" Damen asks me softly. I nod my head and look up to him.

His face is pure beauty. I wish I had looked at him earlier. Every feature is defined and smooth. His nose is long and white, but not long enough to be freakish. His emerald green eyes were pure forests. I could see each jewel that lay in his eyes as he turns his head this way and that. His eyelashes are black and long, curving upwards. His cheekbones are high and pale white, like moonlight on a clear pond. I move down to his lips. They are a pale rose, curving up slightly to cast a smile on his perfect face. The symmetry was unbelievable. I can't stop staring at his lips. He slowly smiles more to reveal his bleach white teeth. I see the two fangs protruding, but what once bothered me now delights me. His hair is a field of golden light. It shines on his head, casting a golden glow over him. I urge to sift my fingers through it.

I move down to his body. He is wearing a tight black t-shirt and hugs his body. I see his muscles defined clearly through the thin fabric. I see the bulge in his arms as he stands there, motionless. His jeans are looser, but I can see the build of his body and how lean he is.

Pure beauty.

I reach my hand up slowly to touch his pale cheek. It's warm and sends tingles of excitement and love down my arm. I stare him in his jeweled green eyes. I love him so much.

He touches my face lightly. "I love you," he murmurs. His voice shocks me. It's like I'd never heard it before.

It's deep and husky, but filled with a lightness that no voice could have ever fulfilled except his. He looked at me adoringly as the words flowed out of his perfect lips.

_Speak again,_ I whimper in my head. I still can't get words to form.

He bends down and kisses me gingerly. "I….love…..you…" he murmurs between kisses. "And I will love you……forever." His hands cradle my face as mine reach up to twine in his golden bronze hair. I curl around him, my body moving fluidly. The kiss intensifies, but stops after half a second.

_What? _ I ask sadly. Does he not love me now?

He laughs. "We have an audience."

I spin around quickly to see Alyssa, Jack, Aislinn and Charlie. Their beauty stuns me.

Aislinn's long blonde hair flows down to her waist in straight paths. Her purple eyes glow with warmth, matching her silky silver dress. Her thin frame is wrapped in a silver silk dress that went down to knee length. Her hand was clasped in Charlie's as she stared at me with a welcoming smile on her rosy lips.

"Nice to see you awake, Jess," she says kindly.

I beam at her and shift my gaze over to Charlie. His dark brown hair shines in the light . His sea blue eyes are endless depths with hints of green around the edges.

He squeezes Aislinn's hand before striding over to me. "Jesse!" He booms, his voice like thunder. "Nice to see you're not dead! Or should I say, nice to see you undead!" He laughs at his joke and squeezes me in a bear hug. I return it wearily.

When he walks back over to Aislinn, Jack comes forward with a shy smile. "Good thing you finally made it so that Damen isn't available anymore," he says lowly. "He was getting pretty depressed." Jack smirks at Damen playfully. Damen punches him in the arm with lightning speed, but I don't see a blur. I see a perfectly pale hand execute a blow into Jack's upper arm with ease.

Jack just laughs and walks back to Aislinn and Charlie. Alyssa comes up and throws her arms around me.

"Jess! It was sooo hard listening to you whine while you were going through the transformation. I almost felt bad for you, but then I remembered that I went through it too, so, whatever." I glare at her as she finishes, but she just laughs.

Her voice shocks me, ringing through my ears. It was like soft silver clanging against a utensil. Not in a bad way, just in more of a high, ringing tone. Lys's voice sparkles throughout the room, and to my complete and utter shock, I can see sound waves vibrating through the air.

"Weird, right? I know, it took me a century to get used to the sound waves," Lys's voice pierced the air again. I looked away from the vibrations in the air and stared at her. Her eyes were a metallic silver with small flecks of shiny white in them. Her long black hair clashed against her pale skin as it fell down her back. A sleek purple ruffle blouse hung around Lys tightly, and she wore a mini skirt with navy blue jeans underneath.

Totally Lys.

"Jess! Your eyes are the prettiest vampire eyes I have ever seen! I mean, people thought mine were spectacular, but a mix of colors? That hasn't happened before! Ever! Oohhh, I'm jealous now." Lys got a wicked glint in her eyes.

"Come here, Jess. You need to see yourself. Damen! Come along! You want to catch her when she faints!"

He chuckles and takes my hand as Lys pulls me towards a white wooden door. She opens it smoothly and pulls out a body mirror from the corner of the room.

"Okay. One, two, three!" Lys flips the mirror over.

I stare at the woman in the mirror. Her flaming red hair has light red lowlights as her hair waves down her back to her shoulder blades. Her skin is a pale glow, like moonlight. High cheekbones frame her face, curving up towards her eyes.

I gasp at the eyes. They have a base color of purple. Blues and greens swirl throughout the purple, creating two colorful pools for eyes. Silver flecks dance around the edges. I move down to her lips. A washed version of pink, they curve and flow, forming and elegant pair of lips. She opens her mouth slowly to see gleaming teeth. More importantly, gleaming fangs.

They stick out from the rest of the woman's teeth, forming elegant yet deadly weapons to slice open skin. The woman runs her rosy tongue over them, feeling a pang when it crossed over the fangs. She trembles and immediately the fangs slide into her gums.

I am dimly aware that she is dressed in a short, cashmere dress that wraps tightly around her body and accents the curves.

My voice finally comes to me. "Who is she?" I say. I'm shocked. My voice has changed dramatically. It's like a squirrel chirping, but not as annoying. Only the pitch was the same. More fluid and graceful, it sways through the air. My voice had gotten higher and instead of being an alto, I was now a soprano.

"This isn't my voice!" I panic, but the woman in the mirror stays calm.

Damen senses my alarm and is over to me in a sixteenth of a second, wrapping his arms around me.

"It's alright," he murmurs. "You're beautiful, and you are still you. Your voice is what it was, just four octaves higher."

The woman sighs in the mirror. With a jolt, I realize the woman in the mirror is me. "That's….that's me?" I stammer.

Damen chuckles. "Were you surprised by how beautiful you are?"

I smile. I actually didn't look like a total ragdoll now compared to him. I looked like his equal.

"So," I ask casually. "When can we go back to school?"

Damen turns serious. "If you feel in control, right after you eat."

I spin around with my vampire speed. "Can I eat then?"

He chuckles and pulls me upstairs.

The whole family sits around the table as Damen pours me a cup of his blood. The moment he opened the fridge door, the icy hot flame had ripped through my throat. I almost went crazy, but I managed to restrain myself for a few more mere seconds. Now, as Damen rips open the blood baggie that had been specifically reserved for me, my mouth waters and my fangs slip out without permission.

He pours it into a crystal glass as I wait impatiently. When he is finished, he pushes the glass over to me. Aislinn, Jack, Charlie and Lys are watching me intently.

I grab the glass slowly and bring it to my lips. I sniff it. It sends the flame through my throat once again. I slowly tilt it so that the blood will hit my lips. Once it does, I tip it all the way up. It eases the flame as I drink more and more. A tangy, unbelievably wonderful taste floods through my mouth that fills me up. It tastes like Damen, the sexy smell of him combined with the tangy taste makes the perfect drink for me. I finish the glass quickly.

"More please," I ask. Damen laughs and pours more of the blood into the glass. It is gone within a second.

Soon, I have finished all of Damen's blood. I'm full.

"That's delicious," I say.

Damen smiles. "Jess, after school today, we are going to go hunting."

"Animals or humans?" I ask him.

He smiles, smirking. "Both."

"No way am I killing humans!" I say, crossing my arms over my chest.

Damen looks appalled. "Of course not! You just get to mark your humans as for in case of emergency. That way, no other vampire will drink from them."

I pout. "I feel guilty drinking from them."

Damen sighs. "I do too, love. But we aren't taking them as property. We are just taking enough to survive. Think of it as a blood donation. You understand that a human must wait 55 days after giving a blood donation to donate again, correct?" He raises an eyebrow at me.

I nod my head.

He continues. "Well, we don't drink from the same human for at least 60 days. We give them enough time to replenish their blood stock. I wish there was a way to live off of just animals, Jesse, but there isn't. There simply isn't. Believe me, I've tried."

I sigh. "Fine. I'll go 'mark' some stinking humans after school."

Damen smiles and lifts me up into his arms. "There you go," he says softly before kissing me.

I drive my red jaguar to school with Damen sitting in the passenger seat. He packed a lunchbox full of "my medicine" to help with the depression of my mother dying. I brought a thermos, so I could just pour the blood into it if I got thirsty.

"Jesse, love. Slow down. You're exceeding the speed limit by about thirty miles."

"I am going slow!" I whine.

Damen chuckles. "For us, yes. But for humans, no. Do you remember what it was like driving with me to my house that first day, and you said I was driving recklessly?"

I nod my head.

"Well, you're exceeding that speed by about fifty miles per hour."

I raise to elegant eyebrows. "What?" I ask, my chirping voice reaches a tone I had never been able to rise to before.

Damen chuckles again and takes my right hand. "Don't worry. You'll get used to it."

He squeezes my hand and urges me to look at the road.

"Oh. Jesse? Two more things. First of all, have you tried reading anyone's mind yet?"

I had forgotten about that. "No," I reply daintily.

"Okay. Well, if others thoughts roam into your mind at school, just push them out. It's not too hard to figure out."

"Okay."

"Another thing. I know that some of the humans there smell delicious. Not nearly as delicious as you, might I add." He raises a brow as I chuckle. "But resist. I am in all your classes now, so if it becomes too much to bear, just tell me and I'll give you another bag. We have 12 with us."

I stare at him. "Twelve? I'm going to be all sloshy and disgusting!"

He laughs. "No, you won't. Jessica, I have other news that……is more extrodinary than anything any of us have ever seen."

I raise an eybrow. "Who is us?"

"The whole vampire 'community.'"

I stare at him, taking my eyes off the road but knowing we will be safe. "Did I not transform correctly? Am I now a freak of nature?"

He rolls his eyes. "Jessica, _we _are freaks of nature. I'm talking about something you can do that we didn't even know was possible."

I panic, and if I still had a beating heart, it would hum loudly. "What?" My chirpy voice trills.

He squeezes my hand. "Love, calm down. It's an amazing talent."

"What is it?" I say, gripping the leather steering wheel harder.

"Jesse, do you remember when you took a sip out of that glass straw, and we had to change you?"

"Yes, of course I remember." I say, annoyance creeping into my mind, but my voice stays level and sure.

"Well, when you didn't change, and your body rejected the venom, we found an extra chemical that runs, or _ran_, through your blood. It allows you to decide on whether to allow the change, reject it and stay alive and human, turn from a vampire into a human, make another vampire into a human, or make a vampire indestructible. As in, they can't die. _Ever._ Even when their tie dies."

I gape at him. That wasn't even allowed!

"I know it's not _allowed_, Jesse. But somehow, you have a special chromozone that runs through your blood. You could make it so that any vampire could never die. Or, you could turn them human. You could do the same thing for yourself, too."

I spin my jaguar into an open space in the parking lot of Jefferson High. "Well Damen," I say slowly as I kiss him. "When I learn how to use this to our advantage, I'll make sure we are indestructible." He smiles and kisses me back.

"Devilish mood, huh love?" He asks.

I smile and pull away. "Sure," I say in my trilly voice before opening the door.

Damen and I walk hand in hand to History. When I open the door, Mrs. Gamberly starts to complain, but then sees me and her mouth drops. I hear the rest of the classes intake of breath. They are all staring at _me. _

That's never happened before.

"Ms. Hewett. Welcome back to class. I am formally sorry to hear about your mother."

I try to put on my saddest face. Apparently, it works. "It is a tragedy. Luckily, Damen has offered me a place to stay during the time while working out the arrangements." I hear the class gasp at my voice.

I hear a boy's voice in my head. _**"Damn. She is hot." **_ I stifle a gasp and bite my tongue to hold in the crude comment that was about to burst out of my mouth. I feel Damen tense beside me. Apparently, he heard it too.

"_Let's just sit down," _ I say to him. I hear his muffled response in my head.

The class turns their attention to Damen, the glorious boy standing with his hand curled around mine. We now look like the perfect couple.

"Well, Mr. Shae and Ms. Hewett, if you would please take a seat." Mrs. Gamberly tries to regain her affirmative voice, but her thoughts are still scrambling around in her brain.

Damen and I walk to the back of the classroom. As we sit down, a smell wafts over to me. It isn't nearly as pleasant as Damen's blood, but it's appealing. I follow it with my nose. It comes from a burly guy on the football team. His body is covered in over-worked muscle.

I long to sink my canines into the soft spot on his neck. It would be easy, like biting through powdered sugar.

"_Don't, love," _ Damen warns me.

"_Please?" _ I whine. _"I'll mark him."_

_Damen chuckles silently. "No. You don't want fatty blood with cholesterol, do you?" _

I frown.

"_I guess not. Can I have my bottle of blood, then?"_

I chuckle at my words. They sound so foreign, so awkward.

Damen leans down to his backpack to pull out the metal container that carried the blood. He hands it to me silently. I grab it with urgency, and quickly pop the lid.

"_Careful, Jess! If it dribbles down your mouth, we are exposed." _

I slowly (for a vampire) pour the warm blood into my mouth, giving me a thrilling sensation. I drink it down thirstily.

"Ms. Hewett, is that water you are drinking?" Mrs. Gamberly's stern voice interrupts me.

Usually, Damen would lie for me in a position like this. Instead, the words flowed through my mouth easily.

"No, ma'am. It is an energy drink to keep me awake. I have been tired lately with all the stress going on."

Mrs. Gamberly stares at me with her hawk-like eyes.

"Very well then. Don't spill."

"Yes ma'am." I say politely in my chirpy voice.

She spins on her heel to face the whiteboard and continue her lesson. As she drones on.

"_You will be a natural at lying soon," _ Damen thinks to me.

"_Let's hope so. I guess I will need it." _

Damen chuckles out loud, causing many heads to turn. They stare at him, struck once again by his beauty.

He notices the jealous feelings that start to bubble beneath my surface, and immediately takes me hand. I see girls turn their heads away, disgusted that he would pick me.

I concentrate hard on one specific girl's mind. I can only see the back of her head, but I know instantly who she is. The head of pale blonde hair gives it away.

Kat.

My mind prods the layers of hers. I struggle, pushing my mind further until I have full access to her thoughts.

Her current thoughts shocked me.

"_What the hell has Jesse been up to? She disappears for a week, her mother dies, and suddenly she shows up as the hottest damn girl in the school. __**With**__ Damen. Who does she think she is? Plus, the eyes are tacky. Wayy tacky." _

Kat hesitates in her thoughts for a moment.

"_Who am I kidding? Her eyes are awesome! And did she get lowlights in her hair? Did she lose, like, fifteen pounds? She looks like a size four now! What the hell?!?" _

I stop listening there. Kat could never know what I had become. She could never know the truth. I realize with a shock that when I became a vampire, I had given up my best friend.

I lower my head down into my powder white hands.

I know when Mrs. Gamberly is going to let us out before she has decided. It's pretty cool to know someone's decisions before they do.

Damen and I walk hand in hand out of class while I nonchalantly sip my 'drink.' He smiles down at me when I catch a drop quickly with my tongue. I smile back, glowing with pride.

Kat shoulders past us with a quiet snort. It would have been inaudible for human ears, but to me, it was loud and clear.

"Damen, let's walk faster." I say lowly, so that no human can hear us.

"It's too dangerous," he murmurs back, his silky voice sliding through the air. "We can't show how fast we really are."

I roll my eyes. "Fine. But later, we're running. Fast."

He chuckles and squeezes my hand. "Of course."

We slow down to a human pace once again when we are out in the hallway. I hear many thoughts from people that look at me. Some are disturbing, and I would rather slip out of their minds, so I quickly withdraw. I never want to hear a 'fantasy' in my head again.

Boys gawk at me as I walk past. I know that I'm beautiful, but am I really that stunning?

"_You're drop-dead gorgeous, if you understand me," _ Damen says in my head. I chuckle.

"I hope you think so," I say out loud, adding a little bit of lust to my voice. He catches my mood, but he knows we're in public.

Instead, he drags me toward lunch. Had we come to school the period right before lunch?

Guess so.

"Damen, I'm not hungry for _that_," I whisper in his ear.

"We have to go through the routine," He whispers back as his breath tickles my skin.

I stand in the lunch line and grab strawberry yogurt.

"Is this enough?" I ask him.

He sighs. "It's a start."

I go to pay while he grabs a grilled cheese. When I get to the front of the line, a guy from the football team steps up to me. The same guy from History. His burly figure blocks the register, and his hand sweeps down to take mine.

"Hey," he rasps, trying to put a husky tone in his voice. I manage to keep my eye-roll in my head.

"Hey," I say, my trilling voice ringing through his ears. I see he is shocked. I read his mind to find out that I have the prettiest voice on the planet. At least, that he has ever heard.

When he recovers from the shock of my voice, he speaks again. "Let me pay for that."

I look down to the yogurt. "Oh. This? No, no it's fine. It's only 60 cents or so."

"I know," he says, twisting his hands around and around. "I just needed an excuse to talk to you."

My mind jumps, but my perfect body stays completely still. "Oh?" I say questioningly.

He looks down. "Erhm…ya."

I stare him down with soft eyes. "I'm sorry, but I'm already with Damen."

His head snaps up at that, and I see hatred cover over his eyes. "Oh," he says coldly. "Well then, maybe another time."

I know it won't happen, but I reply sweetly "Yes. Maybe some other time."

With that, I move around him and slip towards the cash register.

"So," Damen says casually. "What's up with you and burly football guy?"

I laugh. "Damen, you already know I turned him down. Plus, cholesterol, remember?"

He laughs this time at my blood joke. "Yes, love. I remember."

I lean over to plant a kiss on his lips. "Then don't worry," I murmur.

He kisses me deeply before saying "Okay."

I pull back, knowing that people are staring at us.

We sit and talk for minutes on end. Everything is perfect. I don't feel weird or shy around Damen. He is my equal. My husband. My tie. Mine. As I'm his.

Kat passes by with a flick of her pale blonde hair. Damen nods to me, giving the signal that It's okay if I go talk to her.

She is walking away quickly, almost jogging, but I catch her in three normal strides.

"Hey Kat," I say cautiously.

She turns back to shoot icy blue daggers at me, then keeps walking.

"Kat! Wait up! We need to talk." I say, my voice trilling once again.

She pushes out of the cafeteria into the hallway to spin on her heel and face me. I know she is trying to get up in my face, but it doesn't work.

"So?" She asks sarcastically, anger seeping out of her voice. "What do you need?"

"I'm sorry I disappeared."

Kat stares at me. "That's all you wanted to say? Well, whatever. Like I care." She tries to turn away, but my hand flashes out to grab her wrist. "Let go of me! Let…me…go!" She pants between breaths. She has no chance getting out of my grip, though. It's like steel.

When she figures this out, she stops to stare wide-eyed at me. "Since when have you been working out?"

"I haven't," I answer steadily.

Kat rolls her eyes. "What the hell is up with you, Jesse? You disappear for a week, not telling anyone. You don't call, and your mom dies while you're gone. Then, you show up, freaking glamour bitch! Your voice is changed, your face is changed, you've lost weight, and you're all in love with Damen! I repeat, what the hell is going on with you?"

"Kat, I know it doesn't make sense to you, but…" I'm cut off.

"The hell it doesn't make sense! So start explaining. You better have a damn good reason!" Kat starts to burst.

"Kat, don't use such colorful language. I would appreciate it if you wouldn't." I say calmly.

"Whatever." She snaps back.

"Kat, I can't explain all of it to you, but….I've…changed. It was necessary. I would die if I didn't. And…well…this is the change." I stumble through the words. How do you explain to your best friend that you had to choose between becoming a vampire and spending eternity with a man or killing him?

"Jessica! Don't you dare overreact about this. All I know is that you got some super-chick makeover, lost weight, got different vocal cords, and you would NOT die if you didn't disappear. Just tell me what's going on."

I sigh. "Kat, I can't. Unless you want to come into my world, which you don't. Look, I've already said too much. I really do want to stay friends with you Kat. You are my best friend. But you know me. I don't overreact over big things. This is big. The biggest thing that has ever happened to me. And, I'm sorry that you can't know. I really wish you could." I plead to her with my eyes.

She stays silent for minutes. After a while, she mutters "fine," and stalks away.

I fall back against the wall and sigh.


	17. Chapter 17

_Okay guys! This is a pretty short chapter, but an update! Anyways, things get….kinda weird in this chapter. But, just to let you know, if I wasn't clear enough in there, NO, they did not……well…..erhm……yah. Okay, so, I hope you like the chapter!_

_Please please please review!_

_***Ace***_

_Chapter 17_

"Please? Please please please!" I whine to Damen.

"No. It's too risky. I'm sorry, Jesse. You just can't."

I pout. "Why? Like she would care!" We are standing in his room, arguing over whether or not to tell Kat about vampires.

He pulls me towards him to kiss me tenderly. "Because," he murmurs. "I want you all to myself."

I let him kiss me for a while, but then I push back. "Damen, what is the real reason?"

He stares at me for a while. When his mouth opens to tell me, something I totally don't expect happens.

The bind flares up.

Next thing I know, my arms are draped around his neck, pulling him towards me. He crushes his lips against mine as his arms move down to my waist. I pull him closer to me with my unbelievable strength. He knocks us down onto his bed, and he lays on top of me, still kissing me fiercely.

He moans. I pull my lips away from his to bring them to his neck. My canines extract, and they are aching to bite into him. Even though I know Damen has no blood anymore, I long to bite him anyways.

I nibble around until I find the tender spot on his neck where his blood would pulse.

He is kissing around my cheek, my ear, my throat while I sink my fangs deep in his skin.

They cut through easily, but still, harder than biting a human. It was like biting cold butter. Eventually, I made it through.

His sweet blood fills my mouth. My throat lights on fire, and I drink deeply. Some part of me knows he shouldn't have blood, but my pleasure takes over my rational thoughts. He moans with pleasure and pushes me closer to him. I unconsciously wrap my legs around his.

My hands slide underneath his shirt to feel his cool chest. All the while, mouth is tingling with the warmth of his blood. My lips are glued to his throat, drinking deeply.

When I'm full, I reluctantly pull my fangs out of his neck. The bind is still there, so my hands stay under his shirt, exploring the planes of his chest. He slides his hands under my shirt to circle around my waist, lowering his lips to my neck.

I know this isn't possible. I shouldn't have blood. He shouldn't either. We don't care right now, though. Everything is too perfect.

His teeth sink into my skin, and he drinks thirstily. I stay close to him, moaning eagerly.

When he is finished, he returns his lips back to mine for a long, hard kiss. His hand slides up to pull off my shirt, but I stop him.

"I'm not ready for that," I murmur.

"When you are, let me know," he says sadly and pulls his hand back down.

I stop the kiss for a moment. "Damen, you can touch me. I'm just not ready for…_that._"

He slides his hand back up to my shoulders. "Okay."

I slowly take his shirt off so that I can feel the muscles in his chest. He doesn't take my shirt off, but explores my chest and stomach eagerly.

I let my mouth slide down over his shoulder blades, licking every once and a while. He would shiver and moan every time I did. I trailed kisses up and down his back, his throat, his chest.

He moved his mouth over so that he could nibble on my ear. I sigh. He was perfect.

"I love you," I murmur in his bare chest.

"As I love you," He says. We are under the bed covers, but he still has pants on, as do I.

He had taken my shirt off though, so I was in my light blue bra and my jeans. I was laying in his arms, my hands plastered against his chest. His arms curled tightly around my ribcage. I kiss him ever so slightly on his throat where I had bit him.

The bind hadn't totally worn off, but enough so that my mind was clear.

"Damen?" I ask him, looking up in his emerald green eyes. "How do you have blood? How do I have blood?"

He cradles me tighter against him. "Do you remember your special little gift?" he says, kissing my nose.

I nod my head.

He sighs. "Well, I'm thinking that you can make a vampire have blood again. Not turn them half human, but let them have blood. They won't need it, and they will have a never-ending supply of it."

I smile. "So I can have your blood whenever?"

He kisses the corner of my mouth. "As long as I can have yours," He mumbles against the side of my mouth.

"Fine with me," I answer cooly. He traces the shape of my lips with kisses. He covers every place. He slowly moves his head down to kiss the hollow of my throat, moving ever so slowly towards my chest.

He stops the kisses at my bra, which I'm grateful for. I love him, but I'm not ready for that step. He kisses back up to the hollow of my throat.

"When shall we get married?" He asks me.

I think. "When Lucius leaves town. We need him gone, or else he could interrupt it."

Damen stares at me. "Love, Lucius isn't leaving town. The only way to get him to leave is to…."

I finish his sentence. "To kill him."

He nods. "Yes. And since he doesn't have a tie, we will have to turn him human and then kill him. Could you do that?"

I smile and nod my head. "Anything to keep us together."

He laughs. "Don't every worry about that, Jesse. You and I will be together. Always. Forever."

With that, he rolls on top of me to smother me in kisses once again.

I put my shirt back slowly. He watches me the whole time, a wicked glint in his eyes.

"Is my stomach really that impressive?" I say jokingly, trying to get him to stare at my stomach instead of my chest.

He is over to me in less than a second. "Everything about you is impressive, Jesse. But you know that wasn't where I was looking." He says wickedly.

I laugh. Usually, that would have bothered me. But this is the man I love. He can see me.

I pull my shirt all the way down quickly. "Another time," I tell him.

His smile stays, but he turns serious. "Jesse, you have to go mark some humans."

I whine. "Why can't I just drink from you all the time, and you drink from me?"

He grabs me into a hug. "Because we don't know how your power will change over the years. You need humans in case other vampires move here, and they take them."

"Fine," I say.

"Let me put on a shirt," He says cooly. He lets me go to run into the closet and pulls out a tight black shirt.

"Jesse, I'm sorry if this bothers you, but I think it would be a good idea to mark Kat." Damen says as we are walking out the door.

My jaw drops. For the first time since becoming a vampire, my body shows my true emotion.

"What?" I whisper. "Kat?"

"Yes."

My eyes go cold. "No. Not a chance."

"Jesse just hear me out."

"Not. A. Chance." I state each word like a sentence.

He keeps going, ignoring me. "You don't want anyone else to claim your best friend, do you? That's something that Lucius will do when he sees you again."

Not the Lucius card. "Still no way," I say, but doubt wavers in my voice.

"Just think about it. If Lucius gets her, he will kill Kat. For good, not vampire style."

I pause in the doorway.

Lucius was evil, but that evil?

"He wouldn't," I say, a growl crawling up my throat.

Damen moves towards me. "He would, and I don't want to see you get hurt."

He puts his arms on either side of me so that I'm trapped against the wall. I slide out of them with my vampire speed and massage his back.

"Let me think about it," I whisper into his shirt.

He spins around in a quick, lithe move that would have been blurry to a human. I see it perfectly.

He hugs me tightly before whispering in my ear "Okay."

I open the door from his room to find Lys standing right in front of it, hands on her small hips.

"Yes?" Damen asks with irritation in his voice.

Lys rolls her eyes. "I'm coming hunting with you guys."

"No." Damen replies firmly.

Lys doesn't waver. "Yes. Damen, I haven't eaten in a week. Plus, I want to see Jesse's first time."

"No." Damen's eyes turn to green stone.

Lys sighs and looks over to me. "Do you mind if I come, Jess?"

I shake my head.

She smiles. "Then it's settled. I'm coming!" She starts to run down the hall, but stops mid-stride.

"Oh, Jess? You need some hunting clothes." She turns pointedly to Damen. "I'll only take her long enough to get her ready."

Damen rolls his eyes. "You don't need hunting clothes, Lys."

Her small eyebrows furrow. "Yes, you do. They are easier to move in. Stop being so pushy. I'll only be a minute."

She drags me down the hall at a speed that I used to think was impossible. I now keep up perfectly with her.

I hear Damen mutter under his breath "I'm pushy?" Before I am ushered into Alyssa's room.

"Lys, is this really necessary?" I ask while staring at myself in the mirror. She has dressed me in a silk black dress that is mid-thigh length. It shimmers in and out when the sun hits it, and it's small noodle-straps pull around my shoulders. It shows a little too much of my chest for my liking. Lys had thrown me knee-high black boots with 5-inch heels. They laced up on the sides with black string. Lys had given me a golden whip to wrap around my ivory wrist.

"Just in case," she had said. "It will knock your prey out so that you can drink without struggle."

I shivered, remembering her words. I really didn't want to feed off of a human, but what other choice did I have? Starvation.

I looked up to my face. My red hair was put back in a high ponytail with a braid trailing down the side of my face. I had a stick full of eyeliner on, covering my eyelids and the bottom. Blue mascara smothered my eyelashes, while a royal purple eyeshadow covered my eyelids. A dark rose lip balm was lining my lips, and I rosemary blush spread over my cheekbones.

In definition, I looked like a hooker.

"Yes, it is totally necessary. It will be easy to move in."

"Lys, I look like a hooker!"

Lys spins on her heel to glare at me. "No, you don't. You will fit right in where we are going."

My exotic eyes bulge. "Where on earth will this," I gesture to myself "fit in?"

She smiles. "You'll see. Wait, one last thing. Your eyes need to pop." She giggles to herself. "Like they already don't."

I guess she was referring to the grass green, ocean blue, and rich purple that swirled around in my irises.

She smears the eyeshadow around my eyes, adding an exotic look that makes me look completely different.

I turn around towards the mirror once again. I look like a night goddess.

"Lys, what are you wearing?" I ask curiously, trying to escape the girl in the mirror.

I turn around to see that she is wearing a red slip dress that is cut in petal folds. They fall over her legs, stopping at her knees. It has no straps, but it is very tight and hugs her nicely.

Her sleek back hair falls down her back, while her skin is powdered with ghostly pink blush. Her eyes are covered with silver eye shadow, making her metallic silver eyes larger. Black mascara is on her lashes. Black stilettos pull off the costume. I see the sheath of a knife tucked safely under her foot.

She sees me eyeing it. "Oh. You see, we all have our own preference for weapons. While we don't need them, sometimes it just makes things go quicker. You know, if you don't want to deal with a screaming, thrashing human. Mine is a knife. We think your preference will be a whip, but hey? If you don't like it, we can always get you something else."

I feel nauseous. Not only do we have to feed from humans, but we have to hurt them too?

Lys reads my thoughts. Her face falls. She walks over to me slowly.

"Jess, I know it's hard. I hated feeding from humans at first too. I still feel guilty about it. But, we need to feed from them to survive. Animal blood will only fill us up for so long. I really wish we could just feed off animals, but we can't. I'm sorry."

She lowers her gaze, averting her eyes from mine.

"Lys," I start, reaching out my hand, but then I stop. What to say? "…I….it's just…..it's not your fault. I just wish there was another way."

She looks up, seriousness filling her features. "Me too," she says softly.

We stand there, silent. After minutes of awkwardness, a fire burns my throat.

Lys looks up then, a small smile playing across her face. "Ready to go?" She asks.

I nod my head.

She throws me a small black purse. "Let's go."


	18. Chapter 18

_Here is Chapter 18! This is now officially rated Teen, just to tell you. Anyways, I'm very disappointed in the lack of reviews I've been getting. Is this story bad now? I might stop writing this story if you guys don't tell me what you think. So, If you want this story to continue, please review! It doesn't have to be long, just tell me if you like it or not. I NEED to know. _

_Anyways, enjoy Chapter 18. _

_Remember: REVIEW!;;;:::_

_***Ace***_

_ Chapter 18_

"Who's car are we taking?" I ask Damen as we walk down the stairs.

Lys answers me. "We'll take mine."

I had never been in her car. "What kind of car is it?" I ask her cautiously.

She smiles back at me with a wicked grin. "A mustang."

Damen takes my hand and squeezes it in reassurance. I was a little scared of Lys driving.

Lys sighs. _"Do you want to drive?" _ She asks me mentally.

"_Yes please." _ I say smoothly in my head.

As we walk through the kitchen, I try to grab a baggie, but Damen pulls me away.

"We are eating soon," he tells me. I pout.

"I'm hungry," I whine.

He chuckles and kisses me on the cheek. "I know, love. Just hold on."

We reach the garage to climb into Alyssa's car. I tuck myself in behind the sleek wheel, looking around inside the mustang.

The smooth leather seats are black. The windows are tinted, keeping us from being exposed to the sunlight.

Alyssa is sitting in passenger while Damen sits in the back. I feel a little bit guilty about that, but my guilt is washed away when I turn the key into the ignition.

I pull the car out of the garage, sweeping onto the road.

"Go to the Crownsil Club." Alyssa tells me.

I take a right onto the freeway. Lys turns up the music as is speed up.

"Jesse, slow down," Damen warns. "You're going too fast, and there is a cop on the next bend." I ease on the gas as I slip around the bend. The cop is eyeing the car warily, but I know he can't see me. When we are out of his sight, I sigh and speed up again.

Damen chuckles.

"Lys, what on earth are we listening to?" I ask. A talk show was on.

"I don't know," she answers, shrugging her petite shoulders. "Some intermission talk show."

I hated listening to talk shows, but I ignore the talk. It drones on and on, breaking the silence that the three of us created.

"Jess!" Alyssa breaks me out of my thoughts. "Listen!"

I'm about to protest, but the voice on the radio cuts me off.

"On to our next topic. We received a call from an anonymous sender, saying that her best friend disappeared for two weeks at lunch with a guy. During her absence, her mother had been mauled by an animal attack. When the best friend came back, her voice had changed, as well as her appearance, growth, and eyes." The voice is raspy and masculine, sounding a little drowsy.

I am still driving, but the act has slipped into the back of my mind.

Kat had called into the talk show.

"Well, this isn't good," Lys said, eyeing me carefully.

I just shake my head. How could Kat do this? To me? Oh, this was turning into a mess.

"What are we going to do?" I ask in a small voice.

Damen jumps in. "I say we feed first, and we deal with this once our hunger is down."

Lys nods in agreement. "Damen's right. We need to eat first. Just forget about it for a while, Jess. We will deal with it later."

I breathe out a small "okay" before completely focusing on the road.

* * *

As I pull the car into the club's parking lot, I see many teenagers gather around, gasping at the mustang.

"Jesse, you need to remember that you're beautiful beyond any human. You have to act that way, too. Or else…" Damen cuts off with a low growl.

I understand where he is going. Or else drunk guys will try to screw with me. I was stronger than them, but I still didn't want to be harassed.

"Okay, I will try to be stuck up," I say with an eye roll.

Damen squeezes my shoulder. "Oh, and Jesse?"

"Hmm?" I say absentmindedly.

"Tell me who you think smells good, and I will tell you if their blood is okay. I mean, un-drugged. Okay?"

"Okay," I say.

As I stop the car, I take a deep, unneeded breath and open my car door, trying to hold a professional posture.

As I throw my left leg out of the car, I see that many humans are crowding around my door. They stare at me as I fluidly step out and slam my car door.

Some mouths gape as we all step out. I see a girl trying to cling to Damen, but he merely brushes her away to come and wrap his arm around my bare shoulder.

I smile possessively up to him as he does the same.

"_You are really good at acting sexy," _ he puts into my mind. _"Then again, I guess you don't have to act much." _ He smirks.

"_Hmm…..Well thank you." _ I say. He leans down to kiss me hungrily to make a show. I see girls' pout and whisper to each other.

I pry into their minds to see that they are incredibly jealous of my looks, and wishing they had Damen. I smirk against his mouth. He was _mine._

When he pulls away, I laugh in my soprano voice and turn to look at Lys. She was watching on the sidelines with a small smile playing on her lips. Boys were gathering around her, and she tells me in her head _"Who do you think smells the best? I'm not sure whether to choose between the blonde behind me or the black-haired on my right."_

I laugh and roll my eyes. _"Choose who you want,"_ I tell her.

She giggles flirtatiously and flips her black hair over her shoulder.

"Let's go _in_ the club, if you don't mind," Damen whispers in my ear. I nod and we walk close, molding against each other.

Heads turn as we walk around. I smell horrible blood, and amazing blood. None compare to Damen, but as close as you could get to an intoxicating taste.

An black haired boy winked at me, and I smiled seductively at him. He blushed and turned away to talk to his friends. I see him point to me in the corner of my eye, but Damen pulls me onto the dance floor, so I don't have a chance to look back.

"_Dance,"_ He tells me. I obey. My body now knew the moves instinctively.

I start with my arms down as I swivel my hips around. Damen takes my hands and places them on his chest as I put his hands a little too low on my waist. We move back and forth rapidly, keeping with the pulsing beat. He slides his hands down further. I smile. I know he would never do this, unless to put on a show. I push my hands harder onto his chest, winking at him. We sway with each other perfectly, and soon enough, I am pushed against his chest as he pulls me closer to him. My leg is wrapped around his as we move. People have gathered around to watch us 'dance.' I hear a guy whistle to me, which only makes Damen push me closer to him.

I was just glad the bind wasn't flaring up right now. That would really give the people something to look at.

I jump and wrap both my legs around his waist. The crowd cheers. He picks me up, supporting me. I throw my arms into the air and wave them, then bring them back down to pad against his chest. He is smiling with dignity, while I smile sexily, trying to impress the crowd.

The song ends, but I don't latch off of Damen. Instead, he walks over to a wall of the club with me and pushes me against the wall, smothering me with kisses. He trails down my throat, but I know he won't bite me. Not here.

I moan to put on a show as he kisses down my throat, my collarbone, down to my chest. He stays there, kissing hungrily.

He stops when we have been crushed against the wall for around five minutes.

"So, like any smells yet?" He whispers in my ear. I nod my head.

I nod my head, looking over to the black haired boy who had winked at me. Damen follows my gaze, then urges me forward. "Go," he says. "But don't you dare sleep with him."

I smile at Damen. "I would never," I say sincerely. He kisses me on the cheek, then tells me he is going to go feed.

Turning away from Damen and to the dark haired boy, I slink over to the bar.

"Hey," I say, adding a sexy lust into my voice. He turns around, surprise covering his features.

"Hey babe," he says once he has regained his confidence. He was nice looking, more of a hot, popular guy you would see at school. His eyes were a dark brown, bordering on black. His muscles bulged beneath his tight black shirt, and his jeans fit his long legs well. His thin line of lips smiled deviously.

I scoot closer to him. "What are you up to?" I ask, brushing my fingers down his arm.

He holds in a shiver. "Sipping a drink. You want some?"

I had never drank before, so I politely declined. His face lowered, but I was determined to raise it back up.

"Why don't we go in the back?" I whisper in his ear. "You know, dance. Have some fun." He turns towards me and smiles.

"Whatever you say, babe." He says. I lead him towards the door in the back. He follows willingly. I push the heavy exit door open effortlessly.

I push him against the brick wall. He laughs nervously. I slide my face close to his, about to kiss him. But instead, I ask him huskily, "what's your name?"

His breath fills my mouth, and mine fills his. It's awkward, but I know I will get his blood soon.

"Drake." He says shakily.

I move my lips to his right jaw. "Drake?" I murmur against them. "What an interesting name." I slick my tongue down his jaw, causing him to shiver. I kiss around his throat as he moans.

"Well," he gasps between moans. "It's not that interesting."

I push my body against his as his hands fly up towards my ribcage. I allow him too, even though it deeply disturbs me.

I kiss the corner of his mouth. "No, no. It's very interesting." I kiss slowly until I meet his lips. He kisses me sloppily, but I don't mind. Even kissing him is mouth watering.

I bring my right leg up to twine around his. He lifts me up, holding me by my butt. I squish against him, intensifying the kiss.

He breaks it off breathlessly. "Why don't we go to my car?" He asks me. I smile.

"In a moment," I say, pulling at the bottom of his shirt. He takes it off quickly.

I let my hands explore his chest, yet it was nothing compared to Damen's chest. I kiss up from his bicep to his throat, right where the large vein sat in his neck.

"Close your eyes," I whisper to him. He obediently obeys. I cover his mouth swiftly with my hand as my fangs slip out. I sink them into his skin.

It was easy. They tore through the skin, the tendons, the muscle. He tried to scream, but my hand was like iron. He couldn't make noise.

His blood gushed into my mouth, a sweet refreshment.

I drank eagerly while Drake slowly lost consciousness. I drank until the fire in my throat burned down to a dull flame.

I pull my fangs out of his throat, to see his eyes closed. I immediately panic. Had I just killed him? I listen carefully for his heart beat. It was faint, but still there. I slump him down against the bricks and run into the club with my vampire speed, trying to find Alyssa or Damen.

I find Damen in the corner, playing with his food.

I pull on the back of his shirt. "Damen!" I hiss. He sees me and excuses himself.

"Love, I'm very hungry. So unless you want to feed me, I need you to leave me alone for a little while."

"Damen, you can feed from me. Whatever. Just come in the back with me for a second."

He immediately understands and we rush out towards the back, facing Drake's slumped figure.

"Hm…guess you wiped him out, huh?"

"No! Damen, he is still alive. I _almost_ wiped him out. Not completely."

Damen smirks. "Okay. I can make him stand up and act normal. But you can't feed from him for a while."

Damen bends down and murmurs in Drake's ear. His eyes open slowly, and he mumbles a bit. We leave him there to recover, hoping he would just think he got wasted.

Damen takes me around to another wall. I sigh and swish my hair back so that Damen can have some of my blood. He stops me for a minute.

"Jesse?" He asks hesitantly.

"Yes?"

Damen looks down. "Did you…kiss Drake?"

I jump a little. "Uhm…yah. But it didn't mean anything! I just wanted him to trust me."

Damen nodded. "You know, there are other ways. I personally don't like to tease my food, but I was in a playful mood tonight. Just, promise me something. And then I'll promise it back to you."

I look down. "Okay," I mumble.

"Please don't kiss anyone else, or get too involved with them. It hurt me when I felt what he was feeling. His thoughts…" Damen shivers. "Anyways, I just can't share you. I _can't." _

I pause. "Oh Damen," I say sadly. "I wasn't trying to be a tramp. I just didn't know how else to feed. It was the first thing that came to mind."

He puts his hands up. "Oh, I know. I'm just saying in the future. It hurts, knowing you're kissing someone else."

"I promise, Damen. I'll just have to come up with a new technique to feed."

Sadness fills his eyes. "Jess, I didn't mean to take away your style of hunting, it's just…" I cut him off.

"No, no, you didn't. When I was doing that, I felt like a tramp. I decided when I was done feeding that I would never do that again."

He sighs in relief. "I thought you would be mad, because it is such a ridiculous request."

I laugh. "It _is_ a ridiculous request, but I don't like that way of hunting either. You're mine, and I'm yours. No one elses. Okay?"

He smiles. "Of course." With that, I fall into his arms and flip my hair back so that he has easy access to my throat.


	19. Chapter 19

**Hi guys! I'm updating kind of quickly now! Finals are coming up soon, though. Anyways, this chapter made me mad. Suddenly, this huge turn happened at the end. I guess that I couldn't keep up a perfect character! But, you guys, I know this chapter will all upset you. But don't worry! Everything will all be resolved in the next couple chapters. Don't forget that I still love Lys, Damen, Jesse, and Jack!**

**Oh, and also in this chapter, I have different points of view. I'm sorry if it is confusing. **

**Again, I want to apologize for this chapter, but it is now a necessary part of the story. I'm so so so so sorry! **

**Please don't hate me. **

**And please continue reading. **

**Love you all! ***In a friendly, awesome way*****

*****Ace*****

_Chapter 19_

Damen drinks greedily, and I moan, falling into his arms the whole time. He supports my weight. My fangs slide out in hunger. He tilts his neck to the side while still keeping his mouth glued to my neck. I sink my fangs in deeply, drinking in his blood as he drinks in mine.

I support my weight now. I'm up against the wall.

He slides his hands under my dress to put them on my bare waist. I unbutton his shirt, sliding my cool fingers along the smooth muscles in his chest. He groans. I feel his fangs sinking ever so deeper into my granite skin. I push my mouth closer to his neck.

A small, petite blonde walks out in a skampy pink dress. Her gasp pulls me out of Damen's neck, and we withdraw from each other quickly.

Sadly, we don't pull apart quick enough. Damen's shirt is flapping in the cool breeze, exposing his rock-hard ivory skin. His hand is still up my dress, but I'm sure that he is unaware that it is there.

The girl had seen us biting each other. A high, blood-curling scream rips out of her throat.

Damen is by her in a second, quieting her with soothing murmurs.

"Hush, honey. You're fine. You didn't see anything. We were just kissing, that's all. Hush…" Damen strokes her hair, murmuring in her ear.

She calms down a little, but turns towards Damen and starts smothering her hands over his chest. He pushes her away, but she starts to wail and scream again.

"Damen, just eat," I tell him calmly. "She won't be quiet."

A sad look fills his deep emerald eyes, but he obeys. His fangs slide out as he quickly lowers his mouth to her neck.

_Her _ neck. It was supposed to be _my _neck.

He bites, covering her small mouth with his large hand.

She passes out quickly, and Damen lowers her to the ground. A drop of blood stays by his lip, and I slowly come over to lick it up.

He smiles a sad smile, and takes my hand so we can walk in to the club together.

_(Lys's P.O.V.)_

I licked my lips slowly, savoring the tangy taste of the boy's blood. It was so…._sour._ It showed his personality.

A 'bad' boy. I liked them. He had tried to undress me, but I had stopped him by trailing kisses down his neck.

I bit him then.

I shake my head, returning back to the present.

"_Lys, we're leaving. Come on." _ Damen's voice wavers through my mind, a bitter-sweet mood lingering in his voice.

"_Okay, brother dearest." _ I say jokingly. "_I'll meet you out at the car." _

I hear his chuckle in my mind as I stride towards the exit of the club.

I smile and nod at the bodyguard that was looking through people's I.D's to make sure they were of age.

I pull my keys out of my pocket as I stand at the driver's door. As I start to push the key into the latch to open, it, my keys vanish from my hands.

I spin around quickly, facing the person who had stolen my keys.

I stare at a black, leather jacket that molds around a large, burly chest. My eyes wander up to his face.

His hair was jet-black, slicking back in a sexy, stylish way. His face was pale, his nose curved to a perfect angle. His red, rosy lips pulled over his cheeks, bending over in a beautiful way.

My eyes wandered down to his long legs. His blue jeans pulled tightly over his strong, sturdy legs.

His eyes bordered on a dark brown, but I knew their true color was black.

He was a vampire.

I put my hands on my hips. "Hey," I say.

He smirks, dangling my keys in the air. "Hey, sexy," He says casually. "Did you…want these?"

I rolled my eyes in my head. I _so_ did not want to play this game, but I knew it was the only way to get my keys back.

I take my hands off my hips to press them against his. "I would _love_ them back," I say.

He smiles widely and moves his hands up to my ribcage. "Well, you're going to have to work for them."

I lean up on my tip-toes and smash my lips against his. His tongue slides into my mouth, and although I hate it, I return the gesture.

He curls his arms around me, pulling me closer to him. I can hear the keys in his hands behind me.

I break the kiss for a moment. "What's your name?" I ask him, a glint of humor in my eyes.

He smirks. "Drake," he tells me.

"Mmm…" I'm cut off by his lips smashing against mine, once again.

_I just have to kick my foot up, and my heel will catch the keychain._ I think slyly.

I'm about to kick my heel up to take the keys, but a voice stops me.

"Lys?"

(Jesse's P.O.V.)

My eyes widen. "Lys?!?" I gasp. She was kissing a guy passionately, her keys in his hand.

With a shock, I realize she is kissing Drake. _The Drake I had fed from only minutes before. The drake that had passed out only minutes before. _

"What the hell is going on?" Damen growls.

Lys spins around, guilt covering her face. "I…I..I…"

"You were what?" I ask, anger thick in my voice.

Drake smirks. "Nice to see you again, Jess."

I growl at him. "Don't speak to me."

He puts his hands up in mock innocence. "Hey, what did I ever do to you?" He pauses. "Oh wait," a smirk crosses his face. "You did something to _me._"

I growl as my fangs slip out. "I'll bite you again if I have to."

He smiles as fangs slide out of his teeth. "Maybe I'll bite you."

I gasp, stepping away. Damen steps in front of me quickly, crouching in a defensive stance.

"Get the hell away from my sister, get the hell away from my wife, and get the hell away from me." Damen growls.

Drake backs off, a small smile covering his face. He turns to Lys.

"Maybe I'll see you again," he says mockingly.

Lys glares.

"Until then." He says, and runs off.

Damen stands up straight now. He is about to speak, but I cut him off.

"Give me the keys," I tell Lys.

She is about to protest, but I cut her off with my icy tone. "Now."

Tears fill her eyes as she throws me the keys.

"Damen, Jess, I wasn't….I didn't mean to…."

Damen cuts her off. "Get in the back."

I plop down behind the wheel and slam my door shut.

The ride home is silent. Lys tries to catch my eye, but I keep mine glued to the road. I'm barely containing my anger. I'm sure Damen is thinking the same thing.

How could Lys betray Jack? How could she ever do that?

A call on my new cell phone interrupts my thoughts. I touch the answer button.

"Hello?" I murmur in a low voice. Well, as low as my voice could go. It actually turned out to be a low soprano.

Aislinn's voice answers me back. "Jesse? What's going on? Jack just crumpled to the floor."

I pause. "We'll talk when we get home."

Aislinn's voice is filled with worry. "…okay. Please don't let it be bad." She murmurs softly.

I hear the line go dead.

(Aislinn's P.O.V.)

"Jack? Jack, get up. It's alright. You're fine. Lys is fine. Everything will be okay." Although I have no idea what happened, I try to reassure my son-in-law. What had Lys done?

Jack was writhing on the floor in pain. "Lys…" he moaned. "Why? Why?" Tears streamed down his elegant face. Small beads of sweat matted his chocolate-brown hair.

I crouch down on the floor to rub his back. "It will be alright."

I hear Lys's mustang pull up the driveway. "They're home," I murmur.

Charlie comes over to lift Jack onto the couch. He moans in pain, clutching his rib-cage.

Damen and Jesse glide into the room gracefully, but with urgency. Jesse has anger in her eyes, but I can see she is trying to hold it down.

Damen has anger, disappointment, fear, lack of trust, and so many other hurt emotions I want to hug him tightly, murmuring to him that it will be alright, like I used to when he was young. As in, back in the 1600's.

Lys walks in last, her head hanging down as her black hair falls over her eyes.

"Lys? What happened?" I ask with a worried tone.

"You want to know what happened?" Jess says quietly. Her voice raises with each word. "You want to know what happened!?!?" Hysteria enters her voice.

"Lys made out with another guy! Oh, and it gets better! She made out with the guy that I fed from, who, apparently, was a vampire!"

I had the whole family confused now. Vampires couldn't have blood. Well, except for Damen and I.

"Vampires can't have blood!" Charlie says.

Jack is still wheezing and moaning on the couch.

"Except for Jess and I," Damen murmurs. The whole family turns towards him.

He sighs. "I guess it's time to explain your story, Jess," Damen says sadly.

(Jessica's P.O.V.)

When we had explained about my 'powers', the rest of the family had their mouths gaping open.

"Well…" I say.

Charlie smiles widely. "That is awesome!"

I sigh. "I guess. Now, let's focus on the less 'awesome' things that Lys has been doing."

The family turns to stare at Lys, who has her head in her hands. Small sobs spill through her hands.

"I had to!" She cries. "He would have taken my car if I didn't! Or worse, hurt me! Even though I had just fed, he was two times my size! I'm sorry!" She sobs loudly.

Her voice lowers. "I'm sorry, Jack."

Jack eyes her sadly. "You've already hurt me. I can't forgive you. Now right now." He moans again and rolls on his side. His eyes roll into the backs of his head. "Stop the pain!" He cries.

"Damen, what's going on?" I cry.

He looks sadly at me. "You know there is only one way to kill a vampire? Well, except for your way of turning them into a human once again."

I nod my head.

He pauses. "The guy had bit his lip right before he kissed Lys. She had some of his blood. She….she lost the bind with Jack."

I gasp. What had she done?

Before I know what I'm doing, I have Alyssa by the neck, up against the wall.

"What, the hell did you do?" I growl through clenched teeth.

She sobbed harder. "Jess, it was a mistake! I didn't want to kiss him! I love Jack!"

I tighten my grip, then loosen it. Tears stain my cheeks. "You were my sister," I say quietly. "The sister I always wanted. The sister I never had. You were…" I gulp. "You were my best friend. I had never thought that it was possible to know someone so great. Now, I understand that _not even you_ can be perfect. No one can." I let her go and spun around towards Jack.

He was writhing in pain. I kneel down beside him. "Jack," I say. "Jack, do you want to live?"

He nods his head.

I take a deep breath and force all my energy into helping him. I feel my energy pouring out from me to him. As his moaning stops, my energy level goes down.

I slowly fade away into a deep, peaceful sleep.


	20. Chapter 20

**Amigos ! Hi ! Bonjour! Hola! I'm uploading a pretty short chapter that is rated teen FOR SURE. No, no yucky…..well, I guess you know what I'm talking about. But a very…intimate part in here. So, sorry. It was kinda necessary. Well, not necessary, but I just kinda wrote it. Sorry. Anyways, guys, (and female co-workers), I haven't gotten many reviews lately. I need reviews to go one. Like, I lose inspiration to keep writing.**

**Is this even a good story anymore? Should I just quit this story? I haven't gotten any bad reviews yet, but I haven't gotten too many reviews. Probably 40 or 50. I'm seriously thinking about quitting this story, because none of you guys are reviewing. Usually, when people don't review, it means "Oh, this is crappy." **

**It's okay if you think that I'm a crappy writer. Just tell me! So that way I can stop the sloppy story. If you think it is sloppy. **

**Anyways, I'm extremely tired right now, so this is the end of my note. Hope you still like this old story. *And the chapter* **

**REVIEW!**

*****Ace*****

_Chapter 20_

_ (Lys's P.O.V)_

_A dark meadow. That was all there was. A dark, gloomy clearing surrounded by looming dark green trees. The pines drooped. The willows sagged. The oaks shaded into a sickly green. Gray, ominous clouds covered the sky. _

_A shadowy dark green color impaled the grass, it's ever-young youth old. The clearing is silent, giving it only the saddest touch of agony. _

_A cry pierces the air, ice-blown and whipping around, silent and quick. _

"_How could you do this, Lys?" Jack wails. "I loved you!"_

_Lys falls to her knees. "Jack, please understand! I didn't mean to drink his blood and stop the bind with you! I had to kiss him to get my car keys back! He was bigger AND stronger than me! Please listen! You're the only one I love! Only you!" _

_Jack turns his back away from her slowly. A sob escapes her lips. "Jack, no! Jack! Jack!" _

"_You should have known, Alyssa." He says without turning back. _

"_Jack, you have to listen! Please!" Alyssa wails. _

_Jack faded away into the dark evergreens. _

(jESSE'S p.o.v.)

I groan as someone rubs my shoulder back and forth.

"Jess, wake up!" Alyssa's voice rings in my ears.

I don't remember why, but I am extremely angry with Lys.

Groggily, I open my eyes, rubbing the sand away. Lys blocks my line of vision with her face.

Tears are barely contained in her silver eyes. Her silky black hair flowed down her thin silhouette.

"You saved him," She whispered. "You saved him." She grips my shoulders tightly for moments as I stare, confused, at her face.

My voice is as sleepy as the rest of me. "Whad'u mean?" I meant to say 'What do you mean?", but my voice slurred the words together.

Lys stares at me. "You don't remember?" She says, wonder crossing her face.

I shake my head.

I hear soft breathing in a chair on the other side of the room. I sit up slowly out of the bed I had been laying in. In a red, plush chair sat Damen, his auburn honey-wheat hair tousled. His eyes were closed, drooping over in what I assumed was exhaustion. The two top buttons on his shirt had come undone, showing about five inches below his collar-bone. His head slumped to the side, leaning against the wall.

His lips were slightly parted, like what he did when he kissed me. I smile at the thought. Maybe just a peek into his dreams wouldn't be so bad……..

Lys interrupts me. "Just….just think really hard, Jessica. You'll remember. I don't want to tell you what…..what I….." she tries to finish, but tears brim over her eyes and she turns away.

I drowsily turn my head back to Lys. "What'cu sain?" Translation: What are you saying?

A tear slides down her cheek, but she stays silent.

I rack my brain for what would have made her so upset.

My brain clicks.

I blink a few times to make sure my mind is playing the correct scene. Lys kissing Drake. A vampire. A vampire that _I _fed from.

Holy…

My thoughts are cut off by a sob.

"Oh, Jesse! It wasn't like that! I promise!"

I cut Lys off with a clear voice. The memory had cleared my mind. "I don't want to hear a damn explanation. I want to know why the hell you would do that."

Tears flow openly down her cheeks now.

"Please listen!"

I throw my hands up in exasperation. "I don't want to listen to your false excuses!"

Lys hugs herself. "Please, just listen to me. Then you can judge."

I stifle a sigh. "Not right now. Maybe later."

With that, I stand up and walk over to Damen, pressing my cool fingers to his wrist.

"Damen," I murmur. "Let's go upstairs."

He stirs awake and smiles sadly at me. "Okay." He mumbles.

I pull him up with my strength, and soon we are running up to his room.

* * *

When we got to Damen's room, the bind flared up. Next thing I knew, I was plastered against him, rapidly taking his shirt off. He pulled my baby doll top off smoothly, and reached around me to unclasp my bra.

I stop him so that I can push him down on the bed to kiss him. I roll on top of him, kissing him eagerly. He wraps his arms around me once again to unclasp my bra. I let him this time.

I moan as he pushes me closer to him. He moves his hands down to my waist where my jeans are hugging my hips. He moves his hands forward to undo the button in the front. I arch my back so he can easily remove my jeans. He slips them off easily as I start to fumble with his pants.

Soon, I am pressed against him in only my underwear. He traces the bones in my hips as I moan.

I mumble against his mouth. "You remember I'm not ready, don't you?"

He moans in disappointment. "Yes, love. I remember. But, is this okay with you?"

He trails his fingers up my stomach, over my chest, and back down to my hips.

I swivel with pleasure. He chuckles and takes it as a yes.

He rolls me over so that he is on top of me. I wrap my legs around his, and he tangles them up. I move my hands to explore his muscular chest, moving them towards his shoulder blades. I rub them methodically.

I feel his fangs point out. "May I?" He mumbles. I nod my head.

Instead of going for my neck, he goes to my chest. I feel him bite, drinking with urgency as I push his head closer. His hands wrap around me as he drinks.

We stay in that position for minutes on end, while I moan the whole time with pleasure. When he reluctantly pulls away, my fangs pull out. He smiles, wiping a drop of my blood off of his lip.

He stretches out his neck, but I plunge for his upper arm. My fangs sink into his skin, making small punctures in the muscle that bulges from his arm. His sweet, intoxicating blood fills my mouth as my nose breathes in his scent. He pushes his arm closer to me as he drapes his other arm around my hips. I hold up his arm with my left hand while my right hand curls around his neck.

When I am finished feeding, he rolls over to the side, leaving his arm on my pillow. I move his arm up so that I can lay my head down. I lay beside him, my arms wrapping around him as he kisses my forehead.

"I love you," I mumble into his chest.

He chuckles. "I love you too."

* * *

"_Jesse, let me explain!" _

_I throw my hair back. "There's no point. I know what you did." _

_I start to run off, but Alyssa grabs me by the wrist. "No. You're going to listen." Her voice isn't menacing, but has an affirmative tone. _

_I spin around and sigh. _

"_Fine. Hurry." _

_She pleads with her eyes. _

"_Okay, so I walked out of the club to the car. I get to the car and pull my keys out of my pocket and stick them in the little latch-thingy to unlock the car." _

_Normally, I would have laughed at Alyssa's 'latch-thingy' phrase, but my eyes stay cold as a stone in the dead of winter. _

"_When I'm about to twist them, they literally fly out of my hand. I spin around to see this dark-haired guy who is freakishly tall dangling my keys in front of my eyes. He said 'Do you want this?' And I said 'yah. So, can I have them?' And then he said 'You'll have to try harder.' So, obviously he means I have to flirt with him. So I did mildly, and then I kissed him to get my keys back. It was nothing more! You had flirted with him before when you were feeding, and you did more than kiss him!" _

_I frown. She was not helping her argument by making my angry about past actions. _

_She sees that I'm upset. She puts her hands up in defense. "I'm just pointing out. So, then, I ask for my keys again, and he kisses me full on this time. I'm about to kick my heel up so that I can grab the keys, but then you guys came. So…." She trails off. "I guess that's all I have to say. I just wanted you to know that it wasn't to flirt with him. It was to get my keys back." _

_I sigh. Why could I understand her point of view? Oh yes, because I had latched onto Drake only minutes before, kissing him and taking off his shirt. _

"_You're right." I say sadly. "I did do worse. And, I guess some crap like Drake makes you play that way to get your things back." _

_She squeals. "I knew you would understand! Thank you soo much!" She throws her arms around me, and I chuckle, returning the hug. _

_I remember something. "Lys?" I ask, using her nickname that I hadn't used since I was mad at her. _

"_Hmm?" She says, pulling away. _

"_Didn't you break the bind with you and Jack?" _

"_No. It just isn't as strong. We will have to……catch up. You know, make the bond stronger when he recovers." _

_I wiggle my eyebrows. "Ooh." _

_Lys rolls her eyes. "I'm so glad that you're my sister now!"_

_I laugh. "Me too." _

* * *

I yawn and roll over to hit a hard, muscular chest. I gasp, and hear a chuckle in my ear.

I look up to see Damen, my gorgeous husband. Well, techinically not husband. But, he will be soon.

"How did you sleep?" He asks me. A wide smile was on his face.

I smile. "Fine. How about you?"

He stares into my eyes. "It was restless."

"Was it because of me?"

"Yes."

My mood darkens, and he immediately sees.

"Because," He continues. "I had dreams about you, and when I woke up, I saw the perfect girl in my arms."

My mood lightens again as I lean in to kiss him. "That's sweet," I say.

He looks with a mock expression on his face. "I'm sure it is."

I sigh and nestle my head against his chest. "I love you," He murmurs into my hair. I smile.

We lay there, silent.

I'm the first to break the silence. "Damen, we shouldn't be mad at Lys."

He pulls back to look at me. "Huh? You were furious yesterday."

"Well, I think that….I think that Lys can get into other people's dreams." He stares at me, confusion crossing his face.

I continue on. "You know how everyone has a slightly different eye color? Or, vampires at least." He nods his head. "Well, I think that Lys's silver has to do with the night, which corresponds with dreams. I think she can manipulate other's dreams."

Damen stares at me for a long time before urgently saying, "Get up. Get dressed."

I stare down at myself. My whole top half wasn't covered. I blush as he smirks. I quickly turn away to grab some clean clothes while asking "Why?"

I turn around to see him moving with vampire speed to the closet, grabbing some moderately formal clothes. Instead of answering my question, he throws me a bra and a dress.

"Put it on," he orders.

"Where are we going? Why is this so urgent?" I ask frantically.

He smiles as he turns around in a v-neck sweater and black pants. "We have been invited to breakfast."

I gasp. "Our food?"

He smirks. "No. Kat invited us. Rather, I made her mom invite us."

I stifle a sigh. "I don't need a dress for breakfast."

"You do if you're going to mark Kat."

I cross my arms. "I don't want to. I won't. And why would I need a dress?"

Damen smirks again. "You don't _need_ it. I just think you look beautiful in dresses."

I roll my eyes and throw a pillow at him. "I'm still not going to mark Kat."

His face turns serious. "You will if you don't want Lucius to drain her."

I hang my head. "Fine," I mumble sadly.

"Now slip on that dress," he says mockingly. "As much as I enjoy you with not many clothes, I'm sure that isn't an appropriate outfit for breakfast."

I smile as I slip on my clothes. "You're such a guy."

He laughs. "I am, technically a guy."

I take his hand as we walk out of the bedroom to the downstairs.


	21. Chapter 21

_Hi guys! Okay, so here is chapter 21. Sorry it's kind of short. I have a question. Is this story getting boring??? Not many of you guys are reviewing anymore. _

_That leads me to think I'm just getting a crappy mode of this story. Seriously. _

_I'm doubting this story! Please tell me! I won't stop it, though, due to serious complaints about my threats to stop this story. I won't stop it, I promise. _

_Anyways, please review and tell me! Even if it is a one word review!_

_Thanks! _

_***Ace***_

_Chapter 21_

A hand grabs me, pulling me to the left as I fly down the stairs. I gasp in surprise, spinning my head around to see Charlie. He was staring at me.

"You're one fast kid, you know that?" He says before dragging me into the family room. The room where I had first found out about vampires.

All of the family is sitting silently, not moving an inch. Damen skids to a stop beside me. Apparently, he hadn't seen Charlie grab me.

A look of confusion crosses his face. He turns to look down to me. I just shrug my shoulders before taking his hand and walking over to the couch.

We sit down quickly and wait for one of them to start speaking.

Alyssa is sitting in a large chair while Jack rests weakly in a recliner. Aislinn and Charlie sit on the couch parallel to ours.

"What's going on?" I ask.

Charlie begins. "Jessica…"

I hear the sadness and caution in his voice. It puts my senses on alert.

A tear slides down Lys's cheek as Charlie continues.

"This is hard for me to say. Because we love you, Jess. You're family."

I nod my head cautiously.

He takes a breath before continuing. "What you did to Lys…..the other day….well……it wasn't acceptable."

Confusion flickers over my face. Charlie catches it quickly. "You took her by the throat and smashed her into a wall."

Had I?

Oh yah. When we got home. But I hadn't actually gripped her hard!

Charlie continues as Lys sobs silently. "We can't have that. Even though it wouldn't have hurt Alyssa, it's inappropriate."

I cut him off there. "So, you want me to leave?" I don't snap at him, but there is a firm tone that lingers in my chirpy voice.

Charlie opens his mouth to speak again, but I continue. "No, no. It's fine. I'll go. I still have my mother's house." A dull ache runs through my chest at the mention of my mother.

I start to stand up, but Damen pulls me back down on the couch, circling his arm around my waist tightly.

"No, she's not leaving. While I agree that it was very aggressive, Alyssa did wrong. Jesse was only trying to let her know that. She wasn't really threatening her." Damen says fiercely. Alyssa sobs harder.

Damen turns to his sister. A bitter-sweet tone fills his voice. "What are you crying for? Are you scared of Jesse?"

Instead of answering, Alyssa ducks her head away and cries harder.

Damen's eyes turn cold. A look of anger that I had never seen before glazes over his eyes.

"Damen, calm down. It's fine," I try to say casually even though this is killing me inside.

I turn to Aislinn. "When do you want me out of the house?"

Aislinn opens her mouth, then shuts it again. She folds her head into her hands.

Charlie speaks. "Jessica! We don't want you to leave!"

I freeze, shocked. Then why were they lecturing me?

Charlie fidgets before speaking. "Well, we saw the spectacular performance you had. Lys was against the wall in less than a second, and she was struggling. You have an amazing talent for cornering your opponent."

My mouth tries to drop open, but I force it to stay closed.

"What do you want me to do?" I ask quietly.

"Lucius is coming. Again."

My mouth actually does drop. "What?!?" I screech. "That son of a b…" I'm cut off.

"Jess! Listen. You're the only one who can actually face him. I mean, we will all be there, but you have the talent to finish this. _Forever._"

There is nothing more that I have wanted since my mother died. I'm about to shout out yes, but Damen stops me.

"No way in hell will she fight Lucius." His tone is icy, and I look up to stare at his face.

"Why not? I want to!" I say.

He pulls me closer. "No way in hell. No way."

Charlie stares at his son. "Damen, she'll be fine. If she can deal with you, she can deal with Lucius."

"I'm not nearly as crazy as Lucius." Damen says, his jaw set.

Charlie guffaws. "Let's ask Jess. Jess, is he wild when you, 'sleep?'"

I would have blushed a crimson red if I was human. Instead, I fidget awkwardly.

"I…well…..we….uhm….." I trip over my words.

Damen picks up smoothly. "We have only slept. As in, sleeping. Seriously, sharing bed is all we have done."

I hear a chuckle from Lys. I smile slightly.

Charlie's sea blue eyes grow wide. "Oh. Well then."

I burst out in laughter. That would teach him to ask a question like that.

"Well, I still say she should fight," Charlie continues smoothly. "She's a natural."

"No." Damen is glaring now, looking away.

I intervene smoothly with my high, chirpy voice. "Damen," I murmur, adding a silky texture into my voice. "It's for the best. I won't get hurt."

I squeeze his shoulder softly.

He spins around, a murderous look on his face. "Of course you will! Lucius is evil, sadistic, and only cares about himself. You're so small, so fragile…" He trails off, his fingers gliding down my alabaster ivory skin.

"Damen, you remember that I can make myself indestructible? With my…gifts?" I struggle for the right words.

Charlie jumps up at that. "Yes! Jesse can use her powers on her and us, to protect us all. Well, if you don't mind, Jessica."

I nod my head. "Yeah, I don't mind. It would be good for me to learn how to use my…gifts."

Charlie bellows loudly and claps. "Good then! It's settled!"

Damen is still glaring, his intense emerald eyes burning holes through the couch. "No." He says fiercely. "I won't let you."

"Damen, let's just talk about this," I say.

"No!" With that, he speeds out of the room. I hear a loud crash in the basement, and I'm almost positive Damen intentionally broke something.

I still couldn't get used to my senses, but they were slowly growing on me.

Lys interrupts my thoughts. "Jesse, can we talk?"

I look up into her glittering silver eyes. "Yah, sure."

I stand up fluidly and trail behind her as we go up the stairs towards her room.

She sighs when we get in. "This used to be your room too, you know."

I smile weakly. "I know," I say. A question stirs through my mind as she brings that up.

"Alyssa, why do you have your own room if you're basically married to Jack?"

She smiles. "This room is just for appearance. I mean, if anyone came over and saw that we were a room short because I was sleeping with Jack, well, that would drag a lot of attention to our family."

"You already have a lot of attention," I say mildly.

She waves my comment away with her hand. "No matter. We have something that actually matters to discuss."

I remember the dreams. "Yes, we do." I repeat back to her, my eyes layering with an emotionless mask.

I walk over to the couch on the north side of the room. I sit down slowly, letting my eyes wander around the room. Lys takes a seat on her bed.

She gives me a small smile.

I start off. "How long have you known you could manipulate people's dreams?"

Lys stares at the wall silently for minutes. I stay frozen in my seat with my legs crossed.

"About a month." She replies after a while.

I nod my head, but inside I'm reeling. She has known for that long and she hasn't bothered to tell anyone?

Lys reads my thoughts.

"No, No! I told Jack, but I just wasn't ready to tell you guys yet."

Well, at least she told someone.

"How does it work?" I ask her, keeping my voice and thoughts emotionless.

She sighs. "I'm not completely sure. All I know is that I can enter into someone's thoughts while they are unconscious and manipulate what they are thinking into what I want them to think."

I nod my head thoughtfully. "Why were you in my thoughts?"

Her eyes glisten with tears. "Because I needed to explain to you what happened between Drake and I. You wouldn't listen to me while you were awake, so there was only one way."

My body goes rigid. She got in my head to explain why she wasn't at fault?

"Please, Jesse. Please understand. I needed you to know."

I wanted to nod my head in understanding, but I couldn't. I would have done the same thing. But, It was still a shock.

I finally manage to speak. "Are you awake or asleep while in someone's thoughts?"

Lys thinks for a moment before replying "I'm awake, but I'm drifting off. Do you understand?"

I nod my head.

"So you can get into anyone's mind right now?"

She nods. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier." I wave my hand, dismissing the comment.

Lys's face turns sad. "Are you _still _mad about the Drake thing?"

I shake my head. "No. I'm mad that I fed from a vampire, which is impossible unless it's Damen and I."

Lys contemplates this, bobbing her head from side to side. "Well, maybe you made it so that he had blood."

I think about this. It's the only solution that makes sense.

"That's probably it," I tell her excitedly. But then my excitement dies down. "But what does he want with us?"

Lys shrugs her shoulders. "I have no idea, but we will find out. I promise."

She is up off the bed and over to me, squeezing me in a hug in an eighteenth of a second.

"I'm glad we're on good terms now," she says.

I smile, returning the hug. "Me too."

_Hi guys! That's chapter 21~ hope you liked it!_

_Anyways, please oh please review! I need to know._


	22. Chapter 22

_**Hi guys! It's Ace. I'm updating BloodBound! **whoo!****_

_**I started to get bored of this story, but I am going to revise it A LOT and it will change completely. But not right now. I will keep this version online for you, if you guys like it. But I'm not bored now. Don't worry. **_

_**I won't end this book until 35 to 45 chapters, and there WILL be a sequel. For sure a sequel, most likely 3 books, maybe 4, and possibly 5. **_

_**Just because I have a ton of stuff to fit in, and I have this series planned out. So, whatever I feel like then. And, if you guys are still reading it. That depends a lot too. **_

_**Anyways, here is chapter 22. Thanks!**_

_*****Ace*****_

_Chapter 22_

I ride with Alyssa to school the next morning. Damen was hunting, and told me he would come to school around lunch.

I stared down at myself. Lys had given me a noodle strap dress that looped around and down to my knees. It was almost tie-die, yet the green leaves and the purple moon that radiated through the colors stopped the colors from melting together. Luckily, Lys had let me wear my black converse.

Sadly, Lys hadn't let me do my hair.

My flaming red hair was pulled up into a rolling bun on the top of my head. The light caught certain strands perfectly, giving my hair a sparkle. My eyelashes were smoothed and curling up in mascara as dark blue eyeliner bordered around my violet-tourquoise eyes.

I looked stunning, even for a vampire.

Lys looks over to me, spotting the astonished look on my face. "What's wrong?" She asks.

I shake my head. "Nothing." I smile. "You made me look _good._"

Lys laughs. "Jesse, you have always looked _good. _ Your inner beauty just popped out when you turned into one of us."

I grin at her as we pull into the parking lot.

"We are going to have soo much fun!" Lys squeals as she stops her car and opens her car door.

I sigh. I could never fit in again. Oh well.

Stepping out, I see from across the parking lot with my sharp vision many people staring and pointing in small gestures.

I open my ears to hear what they are saying.

"Damn, that's a nice car. Wonder what ass is driving it." I hear a male voice as I join up with Lys, linking arms with her. She tosses her hair back and laughs.

"_I love hearing what they are saying!" _ I say to her mind.

She laughs. _"It never gets old!" _

We are smiling as we reach the sidewalk.

"_Did you hear the 'ass' comment?" _ I say casually in my head.

Lys nods her head.

"_Watch." _ I tell her, a smirk growing on my lips.

I walk over to the guy who had called me an 'ass.' I put my hands on my hips, my shoulder bag swinging.

"You think I'm an ass?" I say politely, letting the smirk creep into my eyes.

His blue eyes go wide. "No…I…you….I wasn't…." He stutters.

I sigh and move my hips from side to side. "Oh well. I thought you were actually someone that had a shot." With that, I walk swiftly back over to Lys, take her arm, and walk into the building. She is barely containing her laughter.

I hear the guy's friends' mocking him. "Dude! You just got RE JEC TED!" I smile widely.

Lys is laughing full on as we walk through the hallways. "That was awesome, Jess. Seriously!"

"Thanks. You have got to have some fun, you know?"

She nods her head a little too quickly for a human, causing some people to stare. I'm sure all they saw was a blur of black hair. _**I **_ saw everything fine.

I walk into math with Lys. "Let's go." My smile widens.

* * *

The guy who had stammered at me earlier was in my class. In fact, he sat right behind me.

So, instead of focusing on math, I focused on his thoughts.

"_I'm such an idiot. She is the hottest girl ever, and I stammer and call her an ass. I have issues. Maybe I can go up to her, invite her to a party, get her drunk…" _

I would buzz out some of the things he thought. I could never get drunk. My venom would burn the alcohol.

I didn't drink anyways.

All of the eyes in the room were fixed on me, even the teachers. He wouldn't stop staring at me until I would smile politely. He would clear his throat and turn back to the board, blood rushing up to his cheeks.

This made me hungry several times, but Lys would just give me the thermos with my blood in it.

I would take small sips, closing my eyes in pleasure every time the blood rushed down my throat.

A few times, my fangs slid out. Lys would give me a pointed _"control yourself or else_" look when this happened. I would try my best to hide my fangs with my upper lip, cupping my hand around my mouth until I could get control.

It was hard.

When the bell finally rang, I rushed out of the classroom way too quickly. I could hear the papers rustling on desks through the noise in the hallway. My senses were very sharp right after I drank.

"Jess, slow down a little." Lys walks up behind me. "People stared after you. Not good."

I take a deep breath. "Sorry," I murmur in my high voice. "I'll try to slow it down to human pace."

Lys smiles. "That's a good girl."

I roll my eyes. "Woof," I say sarcastically.

Lys just laughs. "I have to go to P.E. Always torture when you have to slow it down, right?"

I grin. "Yep, I'm sure. See you later."

She kisses me on the cheek. "Bye!" She trills and walks daintily down the hallway.

I laugh and turn a right corner to get to my English class, the best of the day.

I open the door, eyeing the picture of the lean man kissing the small, petite girl that looked so fragile as her flaming hair hung in the air.

I'm about to walk in, but I double take, glancing back at the picture.

The guy was _Lucius. _

I tap on my shoulder spins me around at inhuman speed. Although I'm sure I looked like a blur to the humans, I could see fine.

There stands Lucius, in his full, dark-haired glory.

A smirk rests on his soft lips. "Smart girl," he says approvingly, his eyes grazing over my body. His hand shoots up to my face to trail fingers down my cheek. I shiver.

"You'll be mine soon," he whispers, all teasing and mocking gone from his face and voice.

I stay frozen. I wanted to scream. I wanted to run away. I wanted to kill Lucius for killing my mother.

I find the strength to swat his hand down. He snaps out of the trance to smirk.

Lucius grabs my hand and kisses it tenderly. "See you in class, darling." His words are muffled around my hand.

I sigh and walk into class.

Well, crap.

* * *

"_Shit. This isn't good." _ Lys's voice rings in my head. _"Too bad we can't put barriers up around our minds. We will just have to shove the thoughts into the backs of our heads. We are leaving next class, okay? Meet me in the girls' bathroom."_

"_Okay," _I reply in my head. _"Should I tell Damen?"_

Lys pauses in her thought. _"No. He would race down here and start a scene. We will tell him when we get home."_

"_Okay. See you soon._" I say silently.

"_Yep….soon." _

I focus back into my English class. I was sitting in the very back to make a quick escape. Lucius was sitting right in front of me, trying to tug my thoughts out of the edges of my mind. I wouldn't let him, and I could feel the frustration radiating from his body.

I smile a little. He deserved to feel pain. He deserved torture. He derserved….

My guard had been put down, and Lucius's mind mingled with mine. He reads my thoughts, hiding a laugh with a cough.

I roll my eyes and push the barrier back into place. It wasn't really a barrier, just I was using my thoughts to concentrate on keeping him out.

It sounded simple, but when you are facing up against a 400 year-old vampire, damn they are strong. Even mentally. It took all my will-power not to fall onto the carpet and writhe in agony.

To take my mind off of the pain blocking him caused, I stared at him.

He wasn't nearly as sexy or handsome as Damen. With his dark hair, long eyelashes, his lean, brooding figure.

Actually, he was amazingly sexy.

His curved cheekbones framed his face beautifully. His pale black eyes sat like pebbles in his eyelids. His tall, lean body was aligned with just the right amount of muscle, although I know he was stronger than anyone in this room. Even me.

I look down to his dark jeans. The fit his legs perfectly, hugging them tightly. His t-shirt slid over his chest, barely concealing the muscles underneath. His leather jacket slipped over his shoulders, giving him a 'I'm all that' look. Yet, it looked…good on him.

I shake my head. What was I thinking? Damen was mine, not Lucius. I was Damen's, not Lucius's.

Oh, but Lucius was so sexy. He turned around to look at me, smiling. His white fangs flash out as he licks them slowly.

It was almost a…..dirty flirting gesture. I hadn't known the effect that seeing another vampire's fangs had. It completely shocked me, and before I knew it, I felt my own fangs sliding out, grazing over my tongue.

He smiles and chuckles softly. He tips his head a little to expose his neck, beckoning me forwards.

I almost leap out of my chair, but instead, I quickly pull out the thermos sitting in my bag. I drink speedily, trying to quench the need for blood.

I drop trickles down my chin. Lucius turns towards me quickly, eyeing the drop. His eyes turn a darker black, which I hadn't thought had been possible.

They zoom in on the drop of blood trickling down my cheek. I push my fangs back in my gums and quickly swipe the blood off my chin.

The boy I'm sitting next to in English, (I think his name is Josh) turns towards me, then immediately shouts out "Jessica has a bloody nose!"

I quickly clamp my right hand over my nose.

Ms. Clemont turns towards me, her eyes narrowing. "Well, Ms. Hewett, go take care of that. Quickly."

I nod my head jerkily, grabbing my thermos and try to slow my pace to a fast human pace.

I feel Lucius's silent chuckle vibrate the room as I walk out.

Once in the hall, I use my hearing to make sure no one is in the hall. When I'm positive there isn't, I speed down towards the girls restroom, swinging open the door quickly and hiding myself inside.

I knew Lucius would be outside soon, so I had to hurry this.

I cleaned off my face quickly, getting rid of any stains of the blood.

I race out of the bathroom to slam into Lucius. He is standing still, a smirk upon his face.

"Well, my darling. Fancy meeting you here."

I glare at him. "Oh yes," I say, sarcasm dripping from my tongue. "It's so ironic you met me in the hallway in the same class that I have with you."

He smiles. "Ah, yes. I' t'is." He slurs the 'it' and 'is' together, adding an old English effect.

"May I pass?" I ask sweetly, putting a hand on my hip.

He moves silently, gesturing with his hand.

I nod my head in thanks before rushing towards my English door.

When I get in, I stride up to Ms. Clemont. With my sweet, high voice, I say, "Ms. Clemont? I'm not feeling too well. Would it be okay if I went home?"

Ms. Clemont eyes me carefully, trying to detect a lie. When she doesn't catch it, she simply writes a note. I pick up my bag, slinging it over my right shoulder while my thermos is in the others.

Now, just to get off campus.


	23. Chapter 23

_**Hi guys! Okay, I'm soo sorry about the delay on this story. I have writer's block for it, but I'm not giving up. Promise xD. Anyways, Spring break has officially started! That's two weeks of non-stop chapters on one of my three stories! **___

_**Hope you guys are excited for that! Anyways, here is chapter 23. Pretty uneventful, but I'm hoping to get some major twists coming soon. As soon as I get past this block. **____** Anyways, here it is!**_

_**Enjoy!**_

_*****Ace*****_

_ Chapter 23_

I called Lys quickly as I tried to contain myself from breaking into a full sprint towards the car. I made it, just above a human pace to see Lys tapping her fingers impatiently on the dash-board.

"What the hell did he say to you?" She growls as I slip into the car, slamming the door and furiously clasping my seatbelt.

"He's a damn piece of work, alright," I murmur.

"What did he say, Jess?" Lys asks again urgently.

"There wasn't one main thing," I said quickly.

"Well then what happened?"

I sighed and sped through the class period, Lys keeping her eyes glued to the road the whole time.

When I finish, Lys mumbles a stream of swears before snatching her cell-phone.

"What?" I ask urgently.

She types on the keys furiously. "We have more trouble."

Huh?

Lys sighs. "Drake."

I squint my eyes. "What are you talking about, Lys?"

She groans. "Look up."

As we pull into the driveway, I see Drake, leaning against the wall in a leather jacket and pants.

"Shit," Lys murmurs. "I was right."

* * *

"We have to call Damen," I say in a low voice.

Alyssa rolls her eyes. "Please, with how he handled it last time? I don't think so. Don't worry, he will find out. Just…not right now."

I groan. "Lys, keeping him out of the situation won't help. It will just make him angry."

Lys throws her hands up in the air. "Then let him be angry! That's the least of our problems right now."

I shake my head. "What exactly is the problem right now, Lys? Because he came back to steal you?"

Lys shakes her head. "No." With that, she spins out of the car, closing the garage door behind her. She runs swiftly over to me, cupping her hands to whisper in my ear.

"Run around the house, lock all of the windows and doors and all other accessible places. He can't get in."

I nod my head and run into the house.

I go through the motions mindlessly. Run, lock, twist, run, lock, twist, run, lock, twist.

It wasn't too hard, but my mind wasn't concentrating on what I was physically doing. It was more focused on the fact that Damen didn't know. I just wanted to feel his warm embrace around me, keeping me safe and locked away from the world.

I wanted Damen. If he were here, I'm sure the bind would have flared up.

I finished locking up the house within seconds. It wasn't too hard. I sigh and walk back to the garage, opening the door.

What I saw scared me. Drake had Lys pinned to the wall, her wrists locked, his weight crushing her feet.

He leaned in to kiss her as tears rolled down her face.

* * *

(Lys's P.O.V.)

_You son of a bitch, _I growl in my mind. He just chuckles low, reading my mind.

_Would you like a taste? _He says, biting his lip so that a drop of glistening blood sits there, right on his lip. My mouth waters. I hadn't eaten in two days.

I shake my head. It was _his_ lips. Not Jack's. I would only kiss Jack. Only Jack.

_Suit yourself,_ Drake says, shrugging.

I almost breathe out in relief, until I see he is leaning into me.

_You don't __**have**__ to want it,_ he says, chuckling. _You still get it._

I struggle against his massive weight furiously, sealing my lips and folding them into my mouth so that they can't contact the blood. I would not drink Drake's blood. Not again.

_Jack! _ I scream in my head. _Help me!_

I heard his penetrating growl flicker across my mind. Oh, how I loved him. Hope washed over me. If only I could stall for 30 seconds…

I glance over to see Jesse standing there, shocked. I stare at her, giving her the stare with my eyes that said 'stall for me, please!'

She nods her head slightly.

Lilting over, she zooms up to Drake, trailing her fingers down his back. He jumps and shivers.

He turns around without letting go of me.

"What do you want?" He asks Jesse menacingly.

She smiles sexily, pulling off her jacket. "I was just wondering why you chose…_that," _ she nods towards me, "Over me. I've been told I can do some damage." She smiles wickedly.

Hints of a longing smile tinted the corners of Drake's mouth, but he didn't let go of me.

"Oh?" He asks, inclining his voice to go lower and rougher. "What's your worst?" He raises an eyebrow.

Jesse sighs. "Oh, how I want you to know. But I just don't know if I can show you while you're holding _her._" She sneers at me.

Wow, Jesse was an amazing actor.

Drake smiles full on. "I'll let go of her if you show me even a little."

Jesse sighs. "And then you'll be mine?"

He nods. "All yours."

She laughs in her high wind-chime voice. "Okay. I'll be right back."

Drake snatches out a hand to grab her. "No, here." He says, lust blooming in his dark eyes.

She smiles sexily. "Fiesty."

Slowly, she slips off her shoes and socks to reveal her pale feet. Drake stares at her legs. Instead, she moves up to her shirt.

She leans up to his ear. "Are you sure?" He nods, gulping.

She laughs again, and pulls the blouse over her head to reveal her blue cami-shirt.

Drake frowns. "Is that all you are willing to give?"

She smiles. "It's a preview, _remember?"_

He gulps and smiles. "Of course."

His hands fall away from me, moving over towards Jesse, searching for her hips. She smiles seductively, winking. Although I know the wink was a code to tell me to knock the hell out of him before he touches her. I nod my head slightly, before ramming into him as Jesse steps back.

My arm curls around his neck as I smash him into the cement wall. He groans in pain as I hold him firmly against the wall.

Jesse laughs. "Oh, boys." She smiles and chuckles under her breath. I can't help but join her.

Jesse walks over to Drake. "Don't you silly boys ever learn? I would never, ever, want to screw with you."

Drake glares, staring away from Jesse as Jack enters the room.

Sheer relief floods over me. Everything was fine.

For the moment.

(Jack's P.O.V.)

I have never walked in on anything more…different.

Jesse was standing in her blue cami-strap undershirt, her bra straps hugging her ivory skinned-shoulders. She was bending down over….Drake?

The guy who had kissed Lys. The one who had ruined our bond. The one that still wasn't in place.

Jealousy bloomed over me insides, heat rushing through my veins as I glared at his smashed head with venom.

Lys had his head in her arms, smashing it against the wall. He was moaning in sheer pain.

I stalk over to Lys and Jesse. "What's going on?" I rumble, trying to lower my voice and make it huskier. No way was that son of a bitch getting Lys. She was _mine._

Lys smirks. "Just teaching Drake about manners." Lys chuckles and strokes his bloody hair. Drake just growls.

I chuckle. Oh, my love, how she would toy with her food. I loved her so much, even after what happened.

I walk over to her and nonchalantly put an arm around her petite waist. "What on earth is a beautiful girl like yourself clobbering such an ugly man?" I say huskily.

Lys shrugs her shoulders. "Girls must take care of themselves sometimes."

I smile widely. "Let me handle it from here. I'll meet you inside."

She nods her head. "Okay."

I lean down and kiss her nose before she prances off with Jesse towards the garage door.

Oh, would it be fun to deal with Drake.

(Lys's P.O.V.)

I loved Jack. The way he had strolled in and immediately become defensive, lowering his voice to add a seductive lust into it.

I swore under my breath. Our bond had been weakened seriously by Drake. I planned on catching up on that tonight. Well, if I could.

I needed Jesse's help. I needed to drink Jack's blood, as he needed to drink mine. No one could give a vampire their blood back, except Jess.

I wasn't really sure, though, how to confront her.

"_Hey Jess. Since I nearly ruined my bind with Jack, I need to make up for it tonight, so when things get intimate, I need you to give me some blood and give him some, okay?" _

I shook my head. That would not pass off well, only leading to embarrassment and rolling fits of laughter from Jesse for hours.

I cleared the thought out of my head quickly. If I wasn't quick, Jesse would catch on to my train of thought.

"Well then," Jess says in a conversational, nonchalant tone. "What is your train of thought?" She smirks, gliding over towards the couch where I sit with my small legs curled up to my chest.

I watch her glide over to me. I envied her in a way. She had everything any girl wanted in a physical feature way.

Her legs were long, yet not too model long that made her look like a spider missing six legs.

Her hips were wide, and swiveled gracefully as she walked. Her waist was slim and pale, thin. The kind that girls try to suck in their guts for.

Her breasts were curved gracefully, but not too…showy. Her curves were slinky and graceful, distributing over her frame. Her flame red hair tumbled down her back in smooth waves, shining when warm or cold light twined into it. She had a perfect body.

While I had my short, nimble self. My needle straight black hair just fell down my back. It was a silky pallet of a raven's wing, a dark, crystalline blue mixing in with the sheer black.

My frame was short, yes, but I was incredibly thin. My legs were short, leading up to my torso that was thin. My ribcage lead up to my chest, which was incredibly small.

My face was sharp-angled, yet soft. My silver eyes stole my face. They were the only spectacular thing about me.

I frown. Why did she get everything? But then I smile slightly. She didn't have Jack. Jack was mine, and there was no other guy better than him.

Jesse shifts her weight to one hip, putting one long-fingered hand on the pelvis. "Well?" She asks, her eyes boring into mine.

I shift uncomfortably, stretching my legs out to place my small hands in my lap. "Well, it's sort of embarrassing, but…" I mumble slowly with my head down.

"Yes?" Jess prompts. I can feel the irritation starting to bubble in her chest, rolling off her in slow, pulsing waves.

"Oh my, this is so embarrassing," I mumble.

Jess comes over to sit by me. "Lys, what is it? You can tell me."

I suck in a deep gust of air.

"What's on your mind, Lys? I almost heard it, but then you blocked off your mind."

I nod my head. "Okay, I have to tell you." I breathe deeply again before speaking my mind in a small, quivering voice.

"Jess, I know this must be way awkward for you, but I need to ask a favor of you." She nods her head. I sigh nervously before continuing. "Well, since my bind with Jack has dwindled a bit, I need to increase it. But in order to do that, I need to drink his blood, and he needs to drink mine. And, since you're the only one who can give us blood, I was wondering if…." I trail off, looking down at my hands as they fiddle with each other in my lap.

When I have the courage to look up, Jesse is gaping at me. I squirm.

"I know it's a very unreasonable offer, but, I need you to do this Jess. Please." I whimper.

She shakes her head, clearing her mind. She then breaks into a wide smile. "You're going far, Lys." A devilish smirk spreads across her face.

I crack a small smile, nodding.

She sighs. "Okay, I'll help you. Just tell me when you need it. In your head, of course."

I nod excitedly. "Thank you so much Jess! You're the best." I throw my arms around her as she laughs.

"Don't go too far with the whole 'you're the best' thing. It won't always be true."

I grin.


	24. Chapter 24

**Hey guys! Sorry it's taken forever to upload this Chapter. Mental block on this story. I really don't like how I turned it. I totally messed it up so I'm going to change it for myself but keep this story on here. So don't worry about it changing here. I just didn't like it this way personally. **

**But I'll keep writing! For you!**

*****Ace*****

_Chapter 24_

(Jesse's P.O.V.)

I was surprised by Alyssa's request, but I accepted. She needed to be with Jack; even if she had made a huge mistake. I knew in the back of my mind that she had no other choice when it came to Drake; when I fed from him, I had to do the same type of thing. However much I disliked it.

Lys and I waited for Jack and Damen to come home, killing time by flipping through MTV.

"Lys, this is stupid. Kim and the Kardashians? Really?"

Lys slaps my arm. "Don't diss them, Jesse! They will come and get you!"

I laugh heartily. "Lys, they're human. Please, like they could do anything."

Lys ignores this and squeals as they appear on the T.V. "Ooohhh! Look at them! Maybe someday we can have a show!"

"It better not be as stupid as this," I grumble under my breath. Lys ignores me.

The T.V. was irritating my eyes. Like they had said, the pixels were all fuzzy in my new vision.

"Lys, how does the T.V. not bother you?" I ask her curiously.

Lys laughs. "Of course it does, Jesse! I mean, this T.V. is supposed to be very sharp to human eyes, even when they get up close to look at the pixels. But to us, it's just a mess of color. But, if I squint my eyes, I can sort of see the way humans do. I just can't miss Kim and the Kardashians."

I snort. How cliché of her.

I sat through the hour show, rolling my eyes at every 'crisis' the sisters had. Lys watched intently, her elbows on her knees and her face resting in her palms. I giggled like a little girl seeing how entertained she was.

When the show was finally over (thankfully) I pulled Lys away from the T.V., just in case there would be another episode on.

She grunted. "Hey! What are you doing?"

"Dragging you away from the T.V. We don't need to watch them ruin their lives."

Lys pouts. "Fine, but we still have an hour to kill."

I pause. "Why don't we go hunting? I haven't gone since….Drake. And he wasn't human."

Lys nods her head enthusiastically. "Yes! You can mark your first human! I know Damen will be royally pissed that I took you your first time, but he'll get over it, right?"

I nod my head. I actually didn't want to mark humans with Damen, just because it would probably be embarrassing. Lys would just laugh.

"Who's car?"

* * *

(Jesse's P.O.V.)

Lys and I sped down the highway in my sleek red jaguar. I drove about 15 miles over the speed limit, but it still felt slow.

"Jess, slow down. Policemen like to hide around this bend," Lys warns me. I reluctantly let go of some of the pressure on the gas pedal.

"Where do you want me to go, anyways?" I ask her carefully.

She smiles. "The mall."

I groan loudly. "Why?"

"Because there are a lot of people there, and you have a variety of people to pick from. Plus, Kat is skipping school today to go shopping. At the mall."

I stifle a gasp. I wasn't ready to mark Kat. Not yet.

Lys hears my thoughts. "Come on, Jesse. You've been putting off her marking for a while, now. It won't hurt her. And I'll tell you when to stop drinking."

I sigh. "How do I release my venom, though?"

Lys laughs. "You'll know, don't worry. It's instinct!"

I tremble slightly in my seat. "I still feel bad." I mumble. Lys pats my shoulder lightly.

"Don't. In a way, you're saving Kat. Either Drake or Lucius will drain her if you don't mark her."

I sigh in defeat. Lys was right. And no matter how much Kat was being a jerk right now, I still needed to protect her.

Taking a sharp right, I exit the freeway.

"Here it goes," I mumble, taking a deep breath.

* * *

(Lys's P.O.V.)

Jesse was scared to death. Or…undeath. I felt bad for her. Everything in her life had sped up for the past month. Meeting Damen, learning the truth, her mother dying, becoming a vampire…..and now marking her best friend. I could never have done that.

When I had first learned about vampires, I had years to think about my decision. She had two weeks. Despite it all, Jesse stayed strong.

She was probably one of the strongest people I knew.

As she pulled into the parking lot, her breathing increased in speed, and I could see worry frame her features. If only I could help her.

"Jesse, don't worry. It'll be fine," I say comfortingly. Maybe after, I could take her to get some dresses. For clubbing.

She breathes out shakily. "How do I get Kat to even talk to me? She….she blew her top the other day when I tried to talk to her. I'm not sure if she even wants to see me anymore."

I think calmly before replying. "Start talking casually, go with her to buy some clothes, and then when she isn't looking, bite her. There will be other people in the store, so….hm…maybe take her into the restroom?"

Jesse parks the car and rubs her eyes with balled fists. "This is just so much," she whispers.

I rub her back. "I know. It'll be okay, don't worry."

She nods her head. "Yeah, it will be okay. It has to be."

* * *

(Jesse's P.O.V.)

"Let's just go feed, mark Kat, and get home by six, okay Lys? No shopping." I say as I step out of the car. Lys frowns.

"Now Jesse, you took me to the mall to feed. It's the mall! Of course we are doing a little bit of shopping. New cocktail dresses and clubbing dresses, yeah?"

I grumble. "Fine. But only two or three stores, okay?"

Lys jumps up and down, clapping her hands. "Yep! And you have your credit card, right?"

I nod my head solemnly. I hated using it.

I walk around to Lys's side of the car and she links her arm through mine. "Let's go."

Walking over to the entrance, many people stared at us. I knew that I could creep into their minds to see what they were thinking, but I didn't want to at the moment. I could take a guess.

"I really don't want to do this, Lys," I murmur under my breath so that only she would hear.

"I know. But you have to." She answers in the same hushed tone. I sigh.

Stepping through the entrance, I look around. The mall is crowded and loud. Here, I can't block thoughts from crawling into my mind.

Millions of eyes would stare at Lys and I, though I was pretty sure they were mostly staring at her. No matter if I was a vampire, Lys had a presence that drew eyes towards her. I didn't envy her, though. I didn't want the attention.

"Tune into Kat's mind, Jess. Try to figure out where she is." Lys whispers quickly in my ear. I nod my head slightly. A human wouldn't have known I had nodded.

I immediately pick up on her voice. _"I hate her. I hate her so much. Damn Jess to hell." _ I hear Kat's voice ringing through my ears. At least she was alone.

"_**She's by bath and body works," **_ I say to Lys in my head.

"_**Okay. W'ell go there, then." **_

We stride through the mall and quickly slide into Bath and Body Works. I find Kat by the citrus scents.

I crinkle my nose. "It's way too strong in here."

Lys was wrinkling her nose too. "I know, I hate these types of stores now, just because of how strong the smell is. Here, I'll be over by the sleeping stuff. You go talk to Kat. Tell me when you've got her."

I nod my head and walk over to Kat, trying to smooth my nose out.

"Het Kat," I say. She stares at me, glares, humphs and walks away. I grab her arm. "Wait!" I squeal.

"What?" She growls, trying to sound rude. I hold back a giggle. Her 'mean' face had always made me laugh.

"I want to tell you what happened." I say quietly.

"Too late." She says loudly. "I don't care anymore."

She tries to turn, but I keep hold of her. "Ow! What the hell Jessica!" She shouts.

"Sorry," I say. "Now I know you still do care, so come with me. I can't tell you here."

"Why not?" She snarls.

"Because I only trust you with the secret, and if everyone else in here hears, it won't really be a secret anymore." I say, proving a good point.

Kat contemplates this. "Fine. But it better be good, Jess."

She willingly follows me to the back of the store and into the restroom.

She stomps into the bathroom, her hands on her hips. She stops and turns around. "Spill. Now." She demands.

I check under the stalls to make sure no one is in here.

"_Lys, block the bathroom door." _I send to her in my mind.

"_On it." _ She replies. I hear the small thud on the door. So, I'm all clear.

"Well?" Kat says, her voice getting higher.

"Well," I say, unsure how to do this.

"_Just lunge in," _ Lys's voice wafts into my mind.

Kat raises an eyebrow. "Okay, I'm out of here." She says and tries to shove past me. I stand my ground, blocking her from the door.

"Jesse, let me out." She says.

I just stand there. She runs into me again.

I grasp her and move my mouth to her neck.

"What the hell are you doing?" She says wildly.

I sink my fangs into her skin. She tries to shriek, but instead a moan claws up her throat.

_Yeah, I know how you feel, _I think sadly. A vampire bite, unless being turned, felt amazing.

I drank greedily when some of my venom dripped off my fangs and carried into her bloodstream.

I drank a little more before letting her go. Her eyes were glazed and her mouth was hanging open.

"I'm sorry Kat," I murmur, a tear rolling down my cheek. I set her down against the wall, letting her slump over.

I then check my face for any extra blood. When I'm clean, I glance sadly over my shoulder at Kat.

Some friend I was.

Tears fell down my cheeks as I walked out.

~**~

"So, did you mark her?" Lys asks me as we walk towards a dress store.

I shrug. "Don't know how."

Lys groans. "Did you feel your venom drip off your fangs and you didn't drink it up again?"

I nod.

Lys sighs in relief. "Okay, then you did mark her. Good."

I hold back tears. It wasn't worth biting Kat, however good her blood tasted.

Lys rubs my shoulder. "I'm sorry, Jesse. You had to, though. Unless you wanted one of us to do it. Otherwise Lucius or Drake would have."

I nod my head. "I know."

"Then let's go." Lys says and drags me into a dress store. "Let's get your mind off of it. Plus, I need to feed too. I'll find someone in here."

She swishes around the room, grabbing at least seven dresses. "Try these on," she says, handing them to me. "When I'm done feeding, I'll come check on which dress looks best."

I sigh. I wasn't in the mood to try on dresses, but I obliged and set myself in a small changing booth.

I slipped off my clothes and pulled the first dress over my head. Walking out of the stall, I see Damen sitting in a seat, waiting for me.

"You look beautiful, as always." He says as he pulls me into his arms. I throw my arms around his waist and cry into his shoulder.

"It was so hard," I sob into his shirt.

"I know," he murmurs in my hair. "I know."


	25. Chapter 25

Hi guys! Sorry it took so long. Losing inspiration, and I thought I had uploaded this chapter when I really hadn't. So, I hope you like the rest of this dull story. I may re-do it, but only 2 to 4 more chapters. Sorry! I can't do anything with it because I messed it up.

Review?

***Ace***

_Chapter 25_

"Damen," I sob as he pulls me into the changing room. Locking the door, he picks me up and I lock my legs around his waist. He takes my face in his hands, staring at me.

I know that he could have talked, but everything was said through his eyes. Next I knew, I was kissing him fiercely as he suppressed a groan.

I clung onto him as if he was my life. As if I was holding onto a tree branch above a cliff. If I let go, I would drop to my death.

Of course I wouldn't here, but it felt that way.

I knew when the bind flared up. It was a hot, surging passion that flew through my body. Damen let out a low groan, slithering his hands up the dress I was wearing.

His touch sent my nerves tingling, and I shivered closer to him as his hands snaked up my body.

Soon the dress was off, and I was in my purple bra and underwear.

I pulled Damen's shirt off with ease, feeling the planes of his chest.

He kisses down to my throat, where his cold lips brushed against my skin.

"We shouldn't be doing this here," he moans into the crease of my neck. I bury my face into his chest, biting lightly here and there.

"We shouldn't, but we are," I murmur back. I can feel his silent laugh vibrate through his body.

"Lys is coming," He murmurs against the corner of my lip.

"Sit on the ledge," I say, sadly pulling away from him. I slip on the dress quickly and kiss him. "Wait for me," I whisper.

He chuckles. "Of course I will."

"Jess! Come out, I want to see the first dress." Lys's high voice waves over to me. Casting a glance at the shirtless man that was my soon to-be husband, I slipped out of the small locker and shut the door behind me.

Lys stared at me, scrutinizing the dress. "Hm. Not the right color. Come back with the next one. I want to be quick."

I smile feebly. I wasn't sure if I could go quick now. Not with Damen waiting for me.

"You know what, Lys?" I say, trying to make my voice sound truthful and blocking Damen out of my mind. "You can go shopping for however long you want. I just want to stay in this store and try on some dresses for awhile."

Lys's eyes light up. "You're not joking?" I shake my head.

"Yes! Thank you thank you thank you Jesse!" she squeals and throws her arms around me. I laugh and shakily put my arms around her in a return hug.

"Let's say, meet back here at eight?" She asks hopefully. I glance up at the clock. It was four.

Four hours with Damen.

"Yeah, that sounds cool. I'll meet you right back in this room."

"Okay, Jesse! See you later!"

"Bye Lys!" I say, waving at her until I see she has skipped away.

I laugh and walk back into the changing locker, where Damen has a wide smile adorning his perfect lips.

"Four hours," He murmurs, hugging me close to him. "I'm not sure that's long enough."

"We have forever, remember?" I mumble.

"Yes, of course." He chuckles and kisses me again. I see the bind lust build up in his eyes once again.

I slip the dress off and pad over to the ledge, patting beside me. Instead, he slips himself under me so I can sit on him. I kiss him eagerly and push my hands against his marble chest.

He quickly un-clips my bra and throws it on the floor as I slip off his pants.

"Not all the way. Not here." I murmur.

"Okay, love." He moans as I kiss down his chest and back up. "But.." he starts.

"Hm?" I say.

He flips us over so I'm laying down and he is lying on top of me. I chuckle.

"You're so dominant, Damen," I murmur in a low voice.

"I'm a man. Of course I am." He mumbles into my collar bone. "Just a sip?" He asks hesitantly. I nod my head.

He bites into me and covers my mouth to keep my moans low. We didn't want people to hear us.

It turns out that he takes a lot more than a sip. He gets to the point where Kat's blood hasn't fully turned into mine, and he has to stop because it wasn't as sweet.

I smirk at that thought. Damen thought I was better than Kat.

That's a first. That a guy thought I was better than Kat.

I bite into him when he is finished, but I really only do take a sip. I was full from Kat.

A pang stings my heart at the thought of her, but Damen just presses closer to me and I forget about the guilt. I knew somewhere in my mind that I was being selfish, but I couldn't stop.

His hands run along my stomach and my chest, sending goose bumps up my arms.

He chuckles low in his throat as I press him closer to me.

He runs his hands along my waist and my thighs.

"You don't play fair," I moan.

He chuckles. "There are no rules to love."

"You're so cheesy."

"Mmm…" Damen says against my lips. "I hope I'm not that flabby. Do I need to start working out?"

I suppress a loud laugh. "Far from it."

~*$$$*~


	26. Chapter 26

_This is the second to last chapter, and the last chapter should be up tomorrow or Wednesday. I have it written, but I'm making you guys wait a day or two. __ Yes, I'm mean. _

_But this is a bad story anyways, so it doesn't matter too much. Anyways, I know it doesn't tie up too well, but I'm sorry! I had to get it done, it was annoying me so much. And this is definitely rated Teen. _

_Okay, enjoy the rest of this lame story and REVIEW! _

_***Ace***_

_Chapter 26_

(Charlie's P.O.V.)

"Aislinn, honey, calm down," I say between sips of blood. "Lucius will leave."

Tears brim her eyes. "Oh, but I don't want to send my son away," She sobs quietly.

I rub her back. "I don't either, but we have to. He will destroy the rest of our family."

Her hands fall into her face. "I know," She mumbles. "I just don't want this."

Muted footsteps interrupt us. "Let me get that." I say, rubbing her back once more before walking at a human pace towards the door.

I stare.

"May I see mother dearest?" He says, his voice taunting and drawling.

~*$$$*~

(Lys's P.O.V.)

"Jack?"

"Yeah?" He mumbles through the receiver in the phone.

"Darling, can you come pick me up? Jesse found Damen in the mall and went home with him."

Jack chuckles. "Yeah. Be there in a minute."

"Love you," I say.

"Love you too," he says before the line goes dead. I walk through the halls of mall towards the main entrance.

Jack is there 2 minutes later.

"What took you so long?" I tease, kissing him quickly.

"Humans," He muttered in a mocking disgusted voice.

I chuckle. "Of course." I grab his hand as we walk back out to the car.

My phone vibrates in my hand. I flip it open quickly.

"Hello?"

Aislinn's wavering voice speaks urgently. "Get home quickly."

~*$$$*~

(Jesse's P.O.V.)

"Damen, what's going on?" I ask, worry creeping into my tone as he drives down the freeway.

"Don't worry, it's okay. We are going on vacation."

"Wh-what?" I stammer. "Whoa, back up. What are you talking about?"

"Can I not take my soon-to-be wife on vacation?" He says, adding a forced smile.

I fold my arms across my chest. "You wouldn't do that spontaneously. Now, tell me what's going on."

"I'm just taking you on vacation," He says. "We are stopping by home quickly, packing some stuff."

"Where do you plan to go?" I ask frantically.

I can see he is trying to make up a place on the spot. "Italy."

I raise and eyebrow. "Italy? Damen, please. Just tell me what's going on."

He shakes his head. "Nothing is going on."

His phone rings. We stare at each other for a split moment before both our hands reach frantically to grab it.

"Both hands on the wheel," I hiss.

"The navigator should watch the road," He says venomously.

I swat his hand away and grab the ringing phone quickly.

"Hello?" I breathe.

"Jessica?" Charlie's voice lingers through the phone.

"Charlie, what's going on?" I ask.

He sighs heavily. "Lucius. He's here, at home."

I nearly drop the phone.

~*$$$*~

(Lys's P.O.V.)

Jack and I rush into the house.

"Aislinn?" I call around the house as I walk into the kitchen.

I had expected to find Aislinn and Charlie there. Instead, I found my older brother.

"Lucius," I breathe.

He turns around with a glass of blood in his right hand.

"Ah, little sister. How lovely to see you again," He drawls.

"I wish I could say the same," I spit at him.

He chuckles. "Now, you know you don't mean that."

"I mean it with my dead heart," I hiss.

"Harsh," He says, a mocking smile spreading across his face. "You have gained a back-bone since the last time I saw you."

Jack growls defensively.

Lucius puts his hands up in mock surrender. "Chill there, testosterone king. I'm not going to hurt my sister, or your lovely tie, for that matter."

Jack still gazes hard at Lucius.

"Moving on," Lucius says awkwardly. "I decided to pay a visit to the family, check out the house, etcetera etcetera."

"Jessica's not here," I growl, digging down to the point of his visit.

His face falls. "Ah, what a shame. I guess I will just have to keep an eye on her, then?"

I don't respond. I just simply stare at him.

"Well, dear sister. While this has been fun," Lucius says. "I must be on my way. T'il next time, my dear." He pecks me on the cheek and swiftly leaves the house. I can hear the faint door latch into the hole as Lucius's scent drifts away.

~Jess~

"Damen, we can't just run away."

He sighs, throwing the bed down on the bed. "I know." He says, rubbing his forehead.

I sit down and rub his back. "It'll be okay. I promise."

"I hope it is."

We sit there silently for minutes on end in a monotonous silence. It drags on until I come to the point where I finally make my decision.

"Damen?" I ask, straightening my back.

"Hmm?" He mumbles in his hands. I pull them away from his face, forcing him to look at me.

"Are you ready?" I ask.

He squints his eyes. "For what?"

I slip off my shirt and my pants. "I'm ready."

He quickly caught on that I was ready to go all the way. Once he caught on, he nearly shredded off my underwear and bra.

I chuckle as he slides off his shirt and pants and takes me. I moan in pleasure and kiss him eagerly as he makes love to me.

It was perfect.


	27. Chapter 27

_Okay guys! Last chapter of this book, and I can't write a sequel to it, because I messed it up so much. I hope you enjoyed my first finished story, however horrible it was. Please review over the whole story. I know it's confusing, but I seriously hoped you guys would like it. _

_Anyways, thanks for reading, and I hope you read my other, better story, Stolen Fangs! I feel like I did better on that one, but you tell me. So, this is ***Ace***, signing out on BloodBound BelleMort, for the last time. (Sob) _

_Read and enjoy! *(and possibly review?)* _

_***Ace***_

_Chapter 27_

~Aislinn~

"I called the agency," Charlie says. "They have him."

Tears brim my eyes, but I hold them back. "So they have him captive?" He nods.

"Then we have nothing more to deal with right now," I say, relief and grief flooding my voice. Charlie nods and walks over to me.

"Indeed we don't, love," He says, kissing me eagerly. I laugh. "We do have children, you know." I say, raising an eyebrow. "Don't be inappropriate here."

He sweeps me up into his arms and runs to our bedroom.

"What about here?" He asks.

I laugh like I was a young girl all over again before getting smothering kisses.

~Jess~

I sigh and lean into Damen's chest. A smile adorns his perfect lips.

"Well…" I say, leaving the sentence hanging. "I guess we should take care of my shredded clothes…and yours."

Damen chuckles. "Okay, but later." He kisses my forehead. "I finally have you. All to myself."

I smile. "I wouldn't want it any other way."

We cuddle with each other, silently smiling.

Lys invades my mind. _All the way, Jess? In the daytime? Tsk . _

I roll my eyes as my cheeks flush red. _Shut up. _

_Whatever, Jess. Jack took me at exactly 1:56 in the…_

I cut her off. _Oh shut it, Lys! I don't care! _

_Fine. Be that way. _

With that, she cuts away from me and I sigh, snuggling closer to Damen, enjoying our alone time.

~Jess~

When Jack walked into our room to talk to Damen and found our clothes on the floor and us snuggled together naked in the sheets, he became paralyzed and quickly turned away when he realized, only to utter out "Charlie wants you downstairs" before zooming out of the room.

My eyes go wide with embarrassment.

Damen chuckles. "It's okay, love. He was just surprised, that's all."

"We better get dressed," I mumbled, hopping out of the sheets and over to the dresser.

Damen wraps his arms around my hips as I search through the closet. "Is that the only time I get you?"

I chuckle hysterically. "No, of course not. Maybe tonight?" I turn around looking at him hopefully.

He smiles and kisses me before letting me grab some clothes to slip on.

We walk down the stairs hand in hand and into the family room.

_This is the room where I heard about vampires and ties and all of the crazy, supernatural things in this world. _I think. This exact had started the beginning of my new life.

"Jesse, Damen. Good thing you're down here." Aislinn says smiling, snapping me out of my trance.

Charlie is smirking. I was sure Jack's look of terror as he came down had tipped Charlie off. I felt hot blood rush to my cheeks.

"We no longer need to worry about Lucius," Charlie says. "The agency took care of him."

"Who's the agency?" I ask him.

"Like our police," Charlie says. "We report, they go to what we call The Block for eternity or until we find they have served enough time."

"So, you reported him and he is now in The Block?" I ask.

Charlie nods. I see a small tear slide down Aislinn's cheek. Her son was in The Block. I guess it was like a vampire prison.

"I'm sorry, Aislinn," I murmur.

She nods. "Thank you."

Damen tugs my hand. "Let's go back upstairs. It's 8:00. I'm sure you're exhausted after such a long day."

I hold back a large smile. That idiot. But he was mine.

"Good night," I say to my family.

They nod back, knowing smiles on their faces. Lys winks at me.

I belonged here. I had a family here.

~Jess~

"So will we ever have to worry about Lucius again?" I ask Damen as he slowly unbuttons his shirt.

"Eventually," He says, slipping off his pants as I undress.

He takes me into his arms and pushes into me. "But not anytime soon."

"Perfect," I mumble against his lips.


End file.
